Germany toughens speech in the face of an unprecedented fourth wave

The acting German Health Minister, Jens Spahn, today alerted the unvaccinated of the real danger of dying from COVID-19, while the outgoing Chancellor, Angela Merkel, urged to take drastic measures in the face of the “dramatic” evolution of the pandemic in the country.

“Probably, at the end of this winter, practically everyone in Germany, as has already been cynically said, will be vaccinated, healed or dead,” the minister said at a press conference to address the reinforcement campaign with vaccines based on mRNA technology.

Leif Erik Sander, head of the infectious immunology and vaccines research group at the Berlin university clinic of the Charité, stressed that “immunity through infection is not really an alternative to discuss” and would only lead to a saturation of the system sanitary and more waves.

Even so, Spahn reiterated his skepticism about the possibility of a mandatory vaccine, a debate that has been opened in Germany due to the insufficient vaccination rate, one of the lowest in Europe, with just 70.5% of the population vaccinated , 68.0%, with the complete pattern.

What it is about now, he insisted, is to break the fourth wave and “no mandatory vaccine breaks this wave,” he said.

CONTACT REDUCTION, THE ONLY OPTION TO BREAK THE FOURTH WAVE

The only option now is to reduce contacts, a determined action by the government, and administer booster doses of the vaccine, although this last point will not immediately make a difference, he added.

Spahn spoke, however, of a “moral obligation” and “solidarity” when it comes to getting vaccinated, and reiterated that in this case it is not a personal decision.

“We are facing a highly dramatic situation. What is in force now is not enough, “warned, for his part, the chancellor at the meeting of the presidency of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), according to media reports, which refer to internal sources of the session.

The general secretary of the CDU, Paul Ziemiak, affirmed, at the end of the meeting, that in this he had been alerted that the evolution of the pandemic is leading the country to a situation such as had not been known until now.

ACCELERATION OF THE VACCINATION CAMPAIGN BY THE BOOSTER DOSE

On the other hand, Spahn welcomed the acceleration of the vaccination campaign, at least with regard to booster doses, while the administration of the first dose seems stagnant.

He assured that Germany, with up to 50 million doses of Moderna and BioNTech / Pfizer vaccines guaranteed until the end of the year, has enough for first doses, completing guidelines and administering the booster.

Germany expects to administer between 25 and 30 million booster doses until the end of the year and hopes to be able to vaccinate 50% of minors between 5 and 11 years old as soon as the European Medicines Authority authorizes it and they arrive, around 20 December, the first 2.4 million doses.

Meanwhile, a survey by the weekly Spiegel carried out between November 19 and 22 by the Civey demographic institute reveals that 72% of the population is in favor of making the coronavirus vaccine mandatory, compared to 20% who reject this option, a result that corresponds to the vaccination rate.

The incidence today marked another record in Germany, with 386.5 new infections with coronavirus per 100,000 inhabitants in seven days, compared to 372.7 yesterday, 303 a week ago and 95.1 a month ago.

Health authorities reported 30,643 new infections in 24 hours and 62 deaths, while the number of active cases skyrocketed to 637,200.

The cumulative rate of admissions in seven days in Germany currently stands at 5.28 per 100,000 inhabitants, and the occupancy in ICUs of patients with COVID-19 is 16.7% of beds available in critical care units for the adult population. (I)