The corona vaccination campaign is getting underway – so is the highly contagious omicron variant. In view of this, is the planned vaccination strategy sufficient?
Berlin – In view of the large number of people who refuse to vaccinate, the ranks of the Greens are talking about compulsory corona vaccination for certain groups of officials.
“What has already been decided for health workers can in principle also be right for civil servants who are responsible for other people,” said the health policy spokesman for the parliamentary group, Janosch Dahmen, of the “Rheinische Post”. Police officers, teachers and firefighters are often unable to keep a safe distance due to their job and therefore have a responsibility to protect other people. This special responsibility to protect includes, where possible, personal and third-party protection through a vaccination.
But the focus must be on conviction. An expansion of the mandatory vaccination also requires sufficient vaccine, said Dahmen. Where are we standing?
Compulsory vaccination
27 percent of the population have not even received a primary vaccination. However, this also includes small children who are not yet allowed to be vaccinated, and medium-sized children for whom vaccinations have only just started, as well as people who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons.
It has already been decided that employees in facilities with particularly vulnerable people such as nursing homes and clinics must prove by mid-March 2022 that they have been vaccinated or have recovered. The Bundestag is to decide on a general vaccination requirement that goes beyond this in a free vote without political party discipline.
The CDU politician Friedrich Merz expressed himself negatively. “We should first clarify whether there are simpler, better, more proportionate means to get a significantly higher vaccination rate,” Merz told the newspapers of the Funke media group.
In view of the spread of the even more contagious virus variant Omikron, compulsory vaccination in the spring comes too late from the point of view of the Munich infectiologist Clemens Wendtner. “If the mandatory vaccination for certain facilities comes on March 16 and the general vaccination obligation maybe later, then we will not be in safe waters again until the summer,” said the chief physician at the Schwabing clinic of the “Augsburger Allgemeine”.
Corona situation
The number of new infections is not falling sharply or quickly enough in view of the high load on the intensive care units and the impending wave of Omikron, as the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) writes in its weekly report on Thursday evening. On Thursday, the seven-day value per 100,000 inhabitants was 340. All measures – such as reducing contacts, wearing masks or complying with hygiene rules – must be maintained or intensified, explained the RKI.
This Friday, the council of experts set up by the new government wants to deal with the dangers of Omikron. The advisory board includes scientists, paediatricians and educational researchers.
Member Stefan Sternberg (SPD), district administrator of the Ludwigslust-Parchim district in Mecklenburg, calls for more political reliability. “We now need a basic framework for fighting the pandemic for the next six months. We have to stick to that, ”he told the editorial network Germany. “What bothers citizens most is the uncertainty. You no longer know what is currently valid because everything changes much too quickly. “
Vaccine supply
This may be due to the fact that the government has only drummed for more first, second and booster vaccinations and it has now become clear that the vaccine that has been procured so far will be sufficient for this year, but no longer sufficient for the first quarter of next year. However, one of the reasons is probably the greatly accelerated vaccination campaign: almost 1.5 million syringes were used on Wednesday alone.
The new Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) had brought the foreseeable vaccine shortage into the public eye. After great outrage over the fact, he made it clear that he was not blaming his predecessor Jens Spahn (CDU) for this. According to Lauterbach, 50 million cans are expected for the first quarter so far, but the need is 70 million, including 50 million for refreshments (boosters). The government had already announced that it would buy an additional 80 million cans from Biontech. Now, according to the minister, 35 million from Moderna should come earlier. Negotiations are in progress with other countries about taking over more cans that are not required at short notice.
The CDU health politician Tino Sorge accused Lauterbach of trickery. “The additional vaccine deliveries are old hat. The contractual clauses and options have been around for months. Karl Lauterbach now adorns himself with successes for which his predecessor is responsible, ”he told the“ Bild ”newspaper. The CSU health politician Stephan Pilsinger told the “Augsburger Allgemeine” that the existing vaccine would be enough for a refresher for six weeks – that would be until almost the end of January.
For the corona vaccinations that have started for children between five and eleven years of age, another vaccine is to come at the beginning of the new year. In the two weeks of January 3 and 10, deliveries of 1.25 million doses of the Biontech children’s preparation are planned, as a new overview from the Ministry of Health shows. Another 1.25 million cans are to follow in January. dpa
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