How hard will the fourth wave be? Spahn and Wieler are preparing for Corona autumn – PK NOW live

Health Minister Spahn and RKi President Wieler give an outlook on the corona situation in autumn in a press conference on Wednesday. The Corona News Ticker.

Update from October 6, 10 a.m.: Health Minister Jens Spahn explains right at the beginning of the press conference that we still have the course of the pandemic in our own hands. Among other things, vaccination makes a crucial difference. It must be proceeded with caution, but the winter can be looked forward to with confidence. But not only the corona pandemic must be observed, an approaching flu wave must also come into focus.

Since there was largely no flu wave last winter, one is now expected this year. “That is why our clear request is: Please get yourself vaccinated against the flu,” said Spahn. Enough flu vaccine is available and sufficient supplies are available. “It sounds paradoxical because we didn’t have a flu wave last year,” Spahn continues. But for this reason, the risk of a major flu wave is higher. The flu also carries high risks for many previously ill and elderly people.

Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn has already had himself vaccinated against flu. Even if he is neither over 60 nor previously ill, Spahn decided to do so because he has a lot of professional contact with other people. “It is important for me to send a signal that it is particularly important this year,” the Federal Minister of Health continued. It is important that the health system is not overloaded this winter.

How hard will the fourth wave get? Spahn and Wieler are preparing for Corona autumn

Original notification dated October 6, 2021: Berlin – Is the Federal Republic threatened by a tense infection situation again this year in autumn and winter – or will the progress in the German vaccination campaign * allow further easing? Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU), RKI boss Lothar Wieler, and the head of the permanent vaccination commission, Thomas Mertens, want to give answers to these questions at the federal press conference on Wednesday morning (10:00 a.m.).

Corona in Germany: Spahn and Wieler give an outlook – fear of a strong flu wave

In addition to the still central topic of corona vaccination, an impending flu wave will also be the focus of the press conference in the coming months. Doctors fear that infections will now be caught up that did not occur in the previous flu season due to the lockdown and distance rules. A strong flu wave would put a heavy strain on the health systems – in addition to the coronavirus.

Even if the 7-day incidence reported by the RKI fell slightly to 62.3 on Wednesday compared to the previous day, many experts warn against excessive relaxation of the measures that are still in place. One of them is SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach. “We have to make sure that we do not get a large, combined wave of infections through a Freedom Day or a premature end of the mask requirement,” explains the health economist in an interview with Augsburger Allgemeine.

Lauterbach warns of Freedom Day – this can lead to “overloading of hospitals”

Lauterbach also sees a danger in the fact that if the measures are completely discontinued in winter, the health systems could reach their limits. “If corona, influenza and common colds occur en masse, it could overload hospitals and intensive care units. It is important to prevent that, ”said the 58-year-old.

The number of vaccinations in Germany is meanwhile still at a comparatively low level *. As of Wednesday, 68.2 percent of the population received at least one vaccination against the coronavirus. 64.7 percent are considered fully vaccinated. (fd) Read more news from all over the world here. * Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA

List of rubric lists: © Wolfgang Kumm / dpa