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HEALTH

Germany to accelerate vaccinations as Delta variant spreads

Despite the demand of vaccinations currently exceeding supply, Germany is expected to see a surplus of shots by the end of July, health minister Jens Spahn said on Saturday.

Published: 27 June 2021 12:42 CEST
Germany to accelerate vaccinations as Delta variant spreads
(Photo by Ina FASSBENDER / AFP)

Germany will soon have so many Covid-19 vaccinations that it will be able to give them out to passers-by in city centres and in places of worship, health officials stated on Saturday.

Speaking at a televised discussion on the health situation in Germany, Spahn said the country needed to fast-forward its vaccination rollout as the Delta variant spreads throughout Europe, reported Reuters.

According to Spahn, “By the end of July, every adult in Germany who wants to be vaccinated will also be able to receive a first vaccination. If deliveries continue like this, perhaps even a little earlier,” quoted German broadcaster ZDF.

READ ALSO: ‘This can be a good summer’: Half of Germans vaccinated at least once against Covid

The German government intends to deliver 5 million doses to vaccination centres across the country in the first week of July, he added.

Further to that, the health minister indicated that the pharmaceutical company Moderna is expected to double the doses it had pledged.

The drugmaker plans to provide some 5.32 million vaccine doses in July, 10.28 million in August and as many as 14.5 million doses in September, reported news broadcaster Deutsche Welle.

In the coming week, 5 million doses from the British-Swedish vaccine producer AstraZeneca and one million doses from the US producer Johnson & Johnson are to be delivered to vaccination centres in the country as well as to doctors, it was announced. A large delivery from BioNTech is also pending.

READ ALSO: Share of Delta variant Covid cases in Germany almost doubles in a week

There are hundreds of thousands of vaccines by AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson not being used up immediately, according to the health minister.

On Saturday, Spahn tweeted that Germany was ahead of Great Britain for the first time, in terms of the absolute number of people vaccinated.

Over half of people in Germany, 53.3%, have received at least one dose and more than a third (34.8%) are now fully vaccinated, the tweet read.

The president of public health agency, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Lothar Wieler, joined in the discussion to echo the need to increase vaccination administration.

He said this was the “most powerful tool” against the pandemic.

READ ALSO: ‘Vaccinate quickly’: German states seeing surge in Delta variant Covid cases

“We are talking about more than 80 percent of the people living in our country,” Wieler said when asked how many people needed to be vaccinated.

“We need to reach that figure so we have basic protection,” he added.

Although the health situation is improving in Germany, the share of Delta variant Covid infections among new cases in the country is rising.

Spahn said the outbreaks of the Delta variant in Britain and Israel showed the need for Germany to ramp up their vaccination campaign.

A single vaccine dose has been found to offer low protection against the Delta variant, so German experts are looking to shorten the gap between the two doses in order to mitigate the risks.

Spahn also indicated that it’s also up to individual responsibility to stem outbreaks and avert a fourth wave.

“We have it in our own hands, each and every one of us and we as a society, that this good summer, which it can become, firstly remains good and secondly autumn and winter become just as good,” he said.

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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?

Published: 20 September 2023 12:05 CEST
Updated: 20 September 2023 22:22 CEST
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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