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According to official figures, for a week, the number of Covid-19 infections has been going down in the European country. Vaccination rates in Germany are lower than those reported in other countries, such as France, and the campaign to get the vast majority of people to take both doses and then the booster dose continues.
The data provided by the Robert Koch Institute shows a slight decrease in Covid-19 infections in the fourth wave that affects the country. This Saturday, the number of cases per 100,000 inhabitants was 402.9. On Friday the level was 413.7 and 442.7 a week ago.
The booster doses on Friday were 900,000, while, for the fourth day in a row, more than a million total doses were administered.
Germans who already have the complete regimen are 69.5%, those who have taken the third dose 22.5%.
27.5% of the population has yet to be vaccinated; of that percentage, 4.8% corresponds to children under four years of age, who still do not have any authorized vaccine.
The vaccination campaign for children between 5 and 11 years old will begin next week, following the recommendation of the Permanent Commission of Vaccination of Germany to vaccinate those who have some type of previous pathology or who live in a vulnerable environment.
On Friday the country registered 510 deaths from Covid-19, a figure that had not been seen since February. Deaths in Germany from the pandemic thus reach 105,510, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
The ICUs in Berlin are about to reach the limit. At Havelhoehe hospital “we had the situation last week that we could no longer admit two patients who should have been transferred from the peripheral ward to the ICU. We had to transfer them to another intensive care unit,” said the hospital’s medical director, Harald Matthes.
Mandatory vaccinations for health personnel
This Friday the German Parliament approved a bill to introduce mandatory vaccination for healthcare personnel in mid-March 2022. The new legislation also allows Germany’s 16 federal states to close bars and restaurants due to high rates of infection.
German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach defended the mandatory restrictions due to the increase in infections and said on Friday in the Bundestag that it is “absolutely unacceptable that in the establishments where people live, who put their trust in us to protect them, that the people die unnecessarily from working there without getting vaccinated. “
The new Chancellor Olaf Scholz defended the vaccination term, which for some is too long, since it takes time to receive the complete schedule and have the maximum level of immunity. Vaccines may be administered by pharmacists, dentists and veterinarians who meet the requirements determined by law and only for a limited period of time.
According to a poll conducted by the German broadcaster ZDF, three-quarters of Germans favor severe restrictions for the unvaccinated, while 21% disagree.
In the same poll, 70% were in favor of mandatory vaccination, a measure that Scholz agrees with and that could be in place by the end of February.
With EFE and Reuters
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