Incidence shoots up to more than 700 – Kekulé against compulsory vaccination

According to Health Minister Lauterbach, the incidence could continue to rise. The virologist Kekulé doubts that there is a general obligation to vaccinate. The news ticker.

• The corona incidence in Germany has reached a new record (Update from January 21, 6:34 a.m.).
• The virologist Kekulé considers vaccination to be useless because of the omicron variant (Update from January 21, 6:34 a.m.).
• Lauterbach is also committed to prioritizing the tight PCR tests and is receiving support (see updates of January 20, 9:23 a.m. and 2:35 p.m.).
• This news ticker is continuously updated.

Update from January 21, 6:34 a.m: The nationwide 7-day incidence has exceeded the threshold of 700 for the first time. The RKI reported a value of 706.3 on Friday morning. It was 638.8 the day before, 470.6 a week ago, and 306.4 a month ago.

140,160 new corona infections were registered within one day (previous week: 92,223). 170 deaths from or with Corona were added (previous week: 286). Experts expect more and more infections that cannot be recorded, partly because laboratories and health authorities are increasingly reaching their capacity limits.

Hospital society: Omicron wave is already burdening normal wards

According to the German Hospital Society (DKG), the burden on the normal wards in regions with high omicron numbers has increased massively. “Looking at the numbers, the burden in the intensive care unit seems to be decreasing, but the burden on the normal ward remains high or even increases significantly,” said Gerald Gaßden, CEO of the DKG RND-Newspapers from Friday.

However, the RKI recently found a stagnation in the incidence of hospitalization. In the most recent weekly report, the RKI also noted a further downward trend in the number of patients in the intensive care units – the currently exploding number of infections will therefore only be reflected there with a delay.

With a view to the federal-state consultations on Monday, Gass demanded specific statements on the general obligation to vaccinate. The German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (DIVI) became clear on the subject: “There is no alternative to compulsory vaccination for adults in order to leave the pandemic behind in the long term,” said Divi President Gernot Marx RND. “Without a higher vaccination rate, we will remain stuck in a kind of permanent loop.”

Virologist Kekulé considers compulsory corona vaccination to be useless

The virologist Alexander Kekulé has spoken out vehemently against a general obligation to vaccinate. “I was already against the general obligation to vaccinate with the Delta variant because it was not epidemiologically necessary. At Omikron, it’s even less appropriate,” he said on the podcast “Die Wochentester”. Cologne City Gazette and RND.

In Kekulé’s opinion, an obligation to vaccinate does not help: “I don’t understand why you want to make vaccines that were made for the original Wuhan variant mandatory for a future variant of which you don’t even know the properties.” If the vaccine will be delivered against Omicron, the Omicron wave is through. He assumes that the autumn wave will be even easier. “Then we will be through with the pandemic in terms of social and economic disruption. Then it will be another infectious disease.”

“Will get such a high number of cases”: Lauterbach announces a change in the PCR test

Update from January 20, 3:40 p.m.: Lauterbach’s proposal for prioritizing PCR tests Support from the President of the German Medical Association, Klaus Reinhardt. In younger people, it would be sufficient to determine a corona infection with a quick test, he said on Deutschlandfunk. In his view, confirmation with a PCR test is no longer necessary.

The Greens health expert Janosch Dahmen demanded that the PCR test capacities “should be used first to secure the critical infrastructure and to detect infections in symptomatic people”. He closed schools in conversation with the Rheinische Post explicitly one.

Corona vaccination obligation: Lauterbach continues to call for the introduction

The latest development is also fueling the debate about general corona vaccination. Lauterbach reiterated his position on ZDF that this had to be introduced: “In my opinion, we can’t get out of the mess without compulsory vaccination,” he said. Doctor President Reinhardt spoke in the newspapers of the Funk media group also again for a general obligation to vaccinate. This could be justified in a few weeks if no significantly higher vaccination rate was then achieved in Germany.

However, there are also doubts about compulsory vaccination, precisely because of Omikron. “The obligation to vaccinate is probably too late for the omicron wave,” said the Hamburg virologist Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit image. After the omicron wave with a large number of infections, “the question of whether such a duty makes sense” arose.

In the coming week, the Bundestag will discuss possible vaccination requirements for the first time. SPD parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich said on Thursday before the start of a closed meeting of his parliamentary group that “we will quickly present the first key points” after the debate next Wednesday. He assumes that there will be discussions about compulsory vaccination “which will apply from a certain age limit”.

Further information campaigns and low-threshold vaccination offers are also necessary, stressed Mützenich. By autumn, the population should be “so strong basic immunization” that the country can deal with the pandemic “more calmly” than in 2020 and 2021.

Lauterbach wants to prioritize PCR tests

Update from January 20, 9:23 a.m.: In view of the shortage of PCR tests, Lauterbach wants to give preference to employees in sensitive healthcare facilities for laboratory evaluations. “We will actually get such a high number of cases that we have to distribute the PCR, have to prioritize it, and I will present a proposal at the weekend on how that should happen,” Lauterbach announced on Wednesday evening. According to Lauterbach, the draft resolution should be decided on Monday during renewed consultations between the federal and state governments.

Well over 100,000 new infections: And Lauterbach expects many more soon – “highest probability”

First report from January 20, 2022:

Berlin – The current corona trend is continuing in Germany: the number of infections is increasing – and breaking new records every day. The incidence* in the Federal Republic is 638.8 on Thursday morning, January 20 (previous day: 584.4). The RKI also reports over 133,000 infections on Thursday – both new highs. Karl Lauterbach expects that this development will not change too quickly. By mid-February, the Minister of Health is forecasting several hundred thousand new infections* a day.

Corona: Lauterbach expects several hundred thousand new infections a day

With a view to realistic scenarios, it can be assumed “that the wave will peak around mid-February and that we will then have to expect several hundred thousand cases a day,” said the SPD politician on Wednesday evening in the ZDF program “Markus Lanz”. . Although it is not certain that the scenarios will come about, “they have the greatest probability”.

There are countries that could cope with such numbers with a view to the intensive care units – however, the situation in Germany is different. Lauterbach warns: “Since we have a high number of unvaccinated among the elderly in Germany, things can turn out very differently here than in Italy, France or England, for example”. A concrete example: In England, for example, the number of unvaccinated people in the over 50 group is one to two percent. “These are values ​​that we cannot reach.”

Corona in Germany: According to Lauterbach, the hospitalization rate is “irrelevant snapshot”

So far, however, the wave triggered by the Omicron virus variant has not been reflected in the intensive care units. According to the medical association Divi, the number of corona patients there has fallen from around 5,000 to 2,664 since the first half of December. At the moment, comparatively few older people who are particularly susceptible to severe courses are infected.

Lauterbach said of the falling hospitalization rate that this was an “irrelevant snapshot” because the wave that is currently running in England and France is yet to come in Germany. “I would expect the right load in the intensive care units in mid or late February, that’s still a month away and then I hope it will still look good,” said Lauterbach. “That’s going to be the endurance test, not what we’re seeing now.

You can read more news about the corona pandemic here. *Merkur.de/bayern is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA (kof/dpa)