Fourth wave in Germany continues to record record levels and a fifth is feared

The fourth wave of the pandemic continues to reach record levels in Germany where, given the stagnation of the vaccination campaign, a fifth is feared, as noted by the president of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) of virology, Lothar Wieler.

“If a reduction in contacts and an acceleration of the vaccination campaign are not achieved, we will also have a fifth wave in Germany,” said Wieler.

67.9% of the population has received the complete schedule of the coronavirus vaccine and 70.4% at least the first dose.

For weeks now, no notable progress has been made to reach figures that bring Germany closer to herd immunity, which is largely attributed to the resistance to vaccination on the part of the population.

Meanwhile, the numbers of infections reach alarming levels.

The weekly incidence this Saturday stood at 362.2 infections per 100 inhabitants, according to the latest data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), which represents the highest level since the beginning of the pandemic.

Last week the weekly incidence was 277.4 and last month it was 80.4. The number of infections also tends to rise and in the last 24 hours 63,924 were registered, 18,843 more than a week ago.

A total of 248 people died from causes related to the disease, 20 more than a week ago.

The president of the Permanent Commission on Vaccination (STIKO), Thomas Mertens, has admitted that the vaccine will not be the tool to break the fourth wave, because its effects take several weeks to be noticed.

“Vaccines have no role to overcome the current situation,” Mertens said in a statement to the Phoenix channel.

“However, it is very important to continue vaccinating for next year,” he added.

The current situation has made the discussion on mandatory vaccination in Germany more current, at least for certain groups, after Austria opted for mandatory vaccination for the entire population from February 2022.

In that regard, Mertens said that the mandatory vaccination could make sense for people who work in certain trades or in certain places, such as nursing homes or hospitals.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, there have been 5’291,549 confirmed infections in Germany and 99,301 people have died from the coronavirus.

Hospital pressure is also growing and in some regions and cities, including Berlin, hospitals are nearing the limit of their capacities.

On Monday, the new health protection law comes into force, which includes measures such as the requirement of the vaccination certificate or, failing that, a daily negative test to access the workplace.

The federal states have asked for improvements in this law and the parties of the future government coalition – the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Greens and the SPD – have announced a revision of it for December 9.