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VACCINE

Bremen becomes first German state to give Covid jab to more than a fifth of residents

There's good news for the northern German city-state of Bremen - it's become the first in the country to vaccinate more than 20 percent of its population with one dose.

Bremen becomes first German state to give Covid jab to more than a fifth of residents
Bremen harbour. Photo: DPA

It means around a fifth of all Bremen residents – that’s around 20.1 percent or 137,000 people – have received at least one jab in the inoculation campaign. Nationwide, the figure is 16.9 percent.

The northern city-state of Bremen, which has around 569,350 people, is the top performing state when it comes to vaccinations in Germany.

The vaccination dashboard shows a map and the percentage of residents who have received at least one dose. Saarland follows closely behind Bremen, after giving around 19.3 percent of people at least one jab.

READ ALSO: ‘I finally might be able to go home’: What it’s like to be offered the Covid vaccine in Germany

Bremen has fully vaccinated around 6.4 percent of the population. When it comes to residents who’ve received both doses, Thuringia is at the top of the list with 7.5 percent.

About 6.2 percent of the population in Germany is fully inoculated.

So how is Bremen doing it?

According to authorities there, a team effort combined with carrying out vaccinations seven days a week is contributing to the speed of the rollout.

Bremen’s mayor Andreas Bovenschulte, of the Social Democrats (SPD), said that a “likely unprecedented alliance” made up of the Senate, aid organisations and the private sector had been set up for the vaccination centre in Bremen.

“This is unique in Germany,” said Bovenschulte. “We vaccinate seven days a week, even on holidays.” 

Bovenschulte said the city could even give out more injections if even more doses were delivered. 

Bremen has “administered well over 90 percent of the vaccine supplied to us,” said health senator Claudia Bernhard (Left Party).

Germany has lagged behind several other countries including the UK and the US due in part to EU-wide supply issues, regional bureaucratic hurdles and problems with AstraZeneca.

But the country has been gradually picking up speed as vaccines supplies get delivered, and more GPs start vaccinating.

More than 656,000 shots were administered last Wednesday – a record daily amount. And that was followed on Thursday with 719,927 shots – another record. On Tuesday April 13th, around 530,500 shots were administered in Germany.

It is hoped that Johnson & Johnson’s delay to the rollout of its single-dose vaccine in Europe, which came about after US officials urged for a pause on administering the jab on Tuesday, doesn’t cause major problems for EU countries.

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HEALTH

Could there be a new wave of Covid-19 in Germany this autumn?

It’s back again: amid sinking temperatures, the incidence of Covid-19 has been slowly rising in Germany. But is this enough to merit worrying about the virus?

Could there be a new wave of Covid-19 in Germany this autumn?

More people donning face masks in supermarkets, friends cancelling plans last minute due to getting sick with Covid-19. We might have seen some of those familiar reminders recently that the coronavirus is still around, but could there really be a resurgence of the virus like we experienced during the pandemic years?

According to virologists, the answer seems to be ‘maybe’: since July, the number of people newly infected with Covid-19 has been slowly rising from a very low level.

According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), nine people per 100,000 inhabitants became newly infected in Germany last week. A year ago, there were only around 270 reported cases.

Various Corona variants are currently on the loose in the country. According to the RKI,  the EG.5 (also called Eris) and XBB.1.16 lines were each detected in the week ending September 3rd with a share of just under 23 percent. 

The highly mutated variant BA.2.86 (Pirola), which is currently under observation by the World Health Organisation (WHO), also arrived in the country this week, according to RKI. 

High number of unreported case

The RKI epidemiologists also warned about a high number of unreported cases since hardly any testing is done. They pointed out that almost half of all registered sewage treatment plants report an increasing viral load in wastewater tests.

The number of hospital admissions has also increased slightly, but are still a far cry from the occupation rate amid the pandemic. Last week it was two per 100,000 inhabitants. In the intensive care units, only 1.2 percent of all beds are occupied by Covid-19 patients.

Still, a good three-quarters (76.4 percent) of people in Germany have been vaccinated at least twice and thus have basic immunity, reported RKI. 

Since Monday, doctors’ offices have been vaccinating with the adapted vaccine from Biontech/Pfizer, available to anyone over 12 years old, with a vaccine for small children set to be released the following week and one for those between 5 and 11 to come out October 2nd.

But Health Minister Karl Lauterbach has so far only recommended that people over 60 and those with pre-existing conditions get vaccinated.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: Who should get a Covid jab this autumn in Germany?

“The pandemic is over, the virus remains,” he said. “We cannot predict the course of coming waves of corona, but it is clear that older people and people with pre-existing conditions remain at higher risk of becoming severely ill from Covid-19”

The RKI also recommended that people with a cold voluntarily wear a mask. Anyone exhibiting cough, cold, sore throat or other symptoms of a respiratory illness should voluntarily stay at home for three to five days and take regular corona self-tests. 

However, further measures such as contact restrictions are not necessary, he said.

One of many diseases

As of this autumn, Covid-19 could be one of many respiratory diseases. As with influenza, there are no longer absolute infection figures for coronavirus.

Saarbrücken pharmacist Thorsten Lehr told German broadcaster ZDF that self-protection through vaccinations, wearing a mask and getting tested when symptoms appear are prerequisites for surviving the Covid autumn well. 

Only a new, more aggressive mutation could completely turn the game around, he added.

On April 7th of this year, Germany removed the last of its over two-year long coronavirus restrictions, including mask-wearing in some public places.

READ ALSO: German doctors recommend Covid-19 self-tests amid new variant

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