Berlin In view of the further increase in the number of infections, doubts are growing as to whether the fourth corona wave can be broken with the current measures. “We have a highly dramatic situation,” said the Executive Chancellor Angela Merkel, according to participants in the meeting of the CDU board. “What is true now is not enough.”
This also applies to the 2G rule, i.e. access to events, restaurants or cultural facilities only for vaccinated and convalescent people. “We have a situation that will surpass everything we have had before,” warned Merkel.
The President of the German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (Divi), Gernot Marx, also appealed to the heads of government from the federal and state levels to decide on further measures if necessary at their next meeting on December 9: “The corona situation is worrying and currently not under control, ”said Marx.
The acting Minister of Health Jens Spahn (CDU) replied to the question of whether, in view of the dramatic development, he was not in favor of a general vaccination requirement, he was still skeptical, and one did not have that much time either: Because at the end of winter “pretty much.” everyone in Germany ”may either be“ vaccinated, recovered or died ”.
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The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) reported 30,643 new corona cases within 24 hours on Monday. The seven-day incidence, which indicates the number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants within a week, rose to 386.5. Chancellor Merkel spoke of a doubling of the number of cases every twelve days.
According to Divi, 3,675 corona patients are currently being treated in intensive care and 51 percent of them are invasively ventilated. The fourth wave hits Germany at a time when the hospitals are already well filled – and with reduced capacities. Mainly due to a lack of staff, there are 4,000 fewer intensive care beds available than in the previous year.
Intensive care physicians warn against the need to prioritize operations
In regions and federal states with particularly high numbers of infections, which are characterized by low vaccination rates, there are “acute overload situations” in the first hospitals, warned Divi experts at a press conference on Monday.
“If we continue to see such an unchecked increase in Covid patients, operations will have to be prioritized,” said Marx. The transfer of patients will also be “relevant within the next few days and weeks,” added the head of the Divi intensive care registry, Christian Karagiannidis.
In view of the dynamic infection rate, other federal states are taking tough measures. Brandenburg extends the 2G rule to retail, closes Christmas markets and imposes a night curfew for unvaccinated people in hotspots with a high incidence and overloaded clinics.
In the particularly affected Bavaria, where the seven-day incidence on Monday was 640, according to Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) is now campaigning for mandatory vaccination and receiving support from neighboring Baden-Württemberg: In a joint guest article with Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (Greens) for the FAZ write the two: “A vaccination requirement is not a violation of civil liberties. Rather, it is the prerequisite for us to regain our freedom. “
The Association of Bavarian Economy (VBW) also advocates a general vaccination requirement: “Without mandatory vaccination, a significantly higher vaccination rate cannot be achieved, which we need in order not to get into an endless loop with the corona waves,” said General Manager Bertram Brossardt.
Spahn: “Vaccinated, recovered or died – that’s how it is”
The acting Minister of Health, Spahn, was recently confronted with allegations of damaging the vaccination campaign by rationing the vaccine from Biontech / Pfizer. His ministry recently announced to the federal states that order quantities for the coveted vaccine would be limited in the coming weeks. “We’re not holding anything back,” Spahn said on Monday in Berlin. But the demand for Biontech has risen sharply and cannot be served in the near future.
Spahn’s ministry had justified the limitation of the order quantities with the fact that vaccination doses in stock from the US manufacturer Moderna threatened to expire. Spahn said the approaching expiration date is an important aspect, but not the crucial one. You simply cannot deliver as much as ordered in a timely manner.
He understands the anger of the doctors who have promised their patients a Biontech vaccination. But Moderna’s vaccine is also “a good, safe and very effective vaccine”, of which 16 million doses are immediately available.
By the end of the year, 24 million doses of Biontech and 26 million doses of Moderna would be made available – a total of around 50 million doses with just under 30 million booster vaccinations that they want to achieve by the end of the year. “There is enough vaccine for all upcoming vaccinations and both vaccines are working,” said the minister.
According to him, the Biontech vaccine for five to eleven year olds is expected to be approved by the European Medicines Agency (Ema) at the end of this week. The vaccine will then be delivered in the EU around December 20.
According to the CDU politician, Germany receives 2.4 million cans. “That should initially cover most of the demand,” said Spahn. In this country there are 4.5 million children in this age group. There will be further deliveries in early 2022.
When it comes to vaccine supplies, Germany is in the “land of milk and honey”
The President of the Paul Ehrlich Institute, Klaus Cichutek, emphasized in the debate about the ration of the Biontech vaccine that one is sitting “in Germany in a land of milk and honey”. Both mRNA vaccines are highly effective and safe and approved for booster vaccinations. He therefore considers it an “inappropriate discussion” to argue now about why Moderna cannot be replaced by Biontech.
The head of the research group for infection immunology and vaccine research at the Berlin Charité, Leif Erik Sander, also emphasized that two good vaccines are available: “We absolutely have to accept this gift.” Citizens could “take what is there with peace of mind “. Sander said the steep rise in incidence and the dramatic situation in the clinics were due to the low vaccination rate.
The Berlin immunologist advertised booster vaccinations, which significantly strengthened immune memory and ensured longer-lasting protection than the two-time vaccination. Sander emphasized whether the citizens would then be permanently protected with the third vaccination. At this point in time, he does not want to rule out an “occasional boost”.
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