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COVID-19

Merkel airs support for compulsory Covid jabs ahead of vote

Germany's outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel has expressed her support for mandatory Covid jabs as federal and state leaders agree to put the move to a vote in parliament.

Merkel and state leaders
Angela Merkel leaves a press conference alongside Olaf Scholz (SPD) and the state leaders. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/AFP-Pool | John Macdougall

It comes as state and federal leaders unite on a series of fresh measures to tame the Covid fourth wave over winter.

These include blanket ‘2G’ in culture, gastronomy and non-essential shops, new provisions to allow for regional lockdowns and strict contact restrictions for the unvaccinated.

Ministers have also agreed to hold a vote on whether Germany should bring in a vaccine mandate early next year.

READ ALSO: Germany to impose sweeping new Covid curbs on the unvaccinated

This would ensure that every person eligible to get a jab would be legally obliged to get their initial doses and regular boosters. 

When asked whether she was in favour of such a move, Merkel said she had hoped that more people would get their shots willingly, but “at this point” in the pandemic, she supported it. 

“Covid vaccination had been advertised on all channels, but there are still gaps in coverage, and on a regional level the health system is overloaded,” she said. Pointing to the particularly aggressive Delta variant, she explained that it hadn’t been possible to achieve herd immunity with such a low vaccination rate.

“Given the situation, it’s necessary to make vaccination compulsory,” she added.

As of Thursday, 68.7 percent of the population was fully jabbed in Germany. Vaccination among Germans and their German-speaking neighbours has tended to lag behind other countries in western Europe. 

READ ALSO: Why is German-speaking Europe lagging on Covid vaccines?

Mandatory jabs ‘by February 2022’

Following the meeting of the state and federal government leaders on Thursday, ministers will ask the Ethics Council for a recommendation on the subject by the end of the year.

Parliament will then hold a vote on the matter with a view to introducing the news measure in February 2022. 

According to incoming Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), due to the sensitive nature of the issue, MPs will be allowed to vote with their conscience, rather than following party lines, when mandatory jabs are put to a vote. 

Angela Merkel and Olaf Scholz
Angela Merkel and Olaf Scholz leave a press conference following a meeting of state and federal leaders on Thursday. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/AFP-Pool | John Macdougall

Speaking at the press conference on Thursday, the outgoing Chancellor said that if she were still in the Bundestag, she would vote in favour of the plans.

“I would cast my vote in favour of compulsory vaccination at this point,” she said.

Merkel is due to hand over to her successor Scholz on December 8th.

She has stayed on in a caretaker capacity since the federal elections on September 26th, 2021, but no longer sits in the Bundestag as an MP. 

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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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