News in December that moves us: That’s why fever juice for children is scarce +++ Flu wave is already above the average of the past few years +++ December 8th is the warning day +++ Now it’s getting really cold +++ The end of the Morality Police in Iran?
The most important news in the BRIGITTE ticker
What moves the world? What moves the BRIGITTE editors? In this ticker we summarize the most important news in December for you.
December 16, 2022
Fever-reducing drugs for children scarce – Lauterbach assures quick support
Coughs, runny noses, sore throats, corona and flu, overcrowded children’s wards in hospitals and queues in front of pediatrician’s surgeries, empty classrooms, exhausted parents – the current wave of illness is pushing families, doctors and pharmacists to their limits. Currently, the respiratory infection rate is about eight times higher than usual at this time of year. The demand for medicines is correspondingly high, but right now fever juice for children, among other things, is scarce.
The shortage of medicines has long affected many common medicines such as fever syrups, painkillers, antibiotics, cancer medicines and also medicines for high blood pressure and diabetes. In the opinion of many experts, one reason for this, in addition to the above-average number of infections, lies in German procurement practice. The president of the professional association of paediatricians, Thomas Fischbach, criticizes in the “Rheinische Post” that the fixed price regulation in Germany has led to production moving to low-wage countries such as China and India. “There are now supply chain problems there, which in turn leads to supply bottlenecks.” Another problem from the point of view of the Federal Ministry of Medicine and Drugs are pharmacies and wholesalers who fill their warehouses and thus contribute to an unequal distribution of medicines.
Due to the current wave of illnesses, the drug shortage is now becoming particularly clear. The federal government wants to change the procurement law. A spokesman for the Ministry of Health said at the end of November that the aim is to broaden supply chains so that dependence on individual manufacturers decreases. “We went too far with economization in this area, too.” According to Federal Minister of Health Lauterbach, the price played the only role, the availability of medicines played too little a role. Next week he wants to present a bill to counteract this.
December 8, 2022
The number of people with respiratory diseases is alarmingly high
The spread of acute respiratory diseases in the population is exceptionally high, according to the experts at the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). The current weekly report says: “The values are currently even higher than the level of previous years at the peak of severe flu waves.” The values for the spread of acute respiratory diseases have increased compared to the previous week. According to reports, around 9.5 million acute respiratory diseases in the population are assumed in the week under consideration (week 48) – regardless of a doctor’s visit.
The number of doctor visits due to respiratory diseases was also “above the values of previous years at this time and in a range that was otherwise only reached in peak weeks of strong flu waves.” According to laboratory tests, there have been 27,200 cases of influenza, nearly 160 influenza outbreaks since October, including around 60 in schools and 30 reported deaths. However, the reporting figures only offer a small part of the actual situation.
In particular, small children under the age of two are currently particularly affected and are mainly infected with the RS virus – the respiratory syncytial virus. Reports of increasing flu and high RSV activities are also coming from other European countries. The nationwide seven-day incidence of new corona infections is currently 214.2 (as of December 8, 2022). This information is also insufficient, since the statistics only include positive PCR tests, but these are no longer carried out across the board.
December 7, 2022
Caution! This is just a practice warning
Danger! The so-called warning day will take place on December 8, 2022. The Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK) is asking all cell phone users to carry out the updates required to receive warning messages via the new cell broadcast system by Thursday.
At 11 a.m. there will be a test warning. This is to test whether the technical infrastructure works. The all-clear is scheduled for 11:45 a.m. Warnings are given on various channels. The message is also distributed via radio, television and warning apps such as NINA and KATWARN. There will be additional messages on city information boards. In addition, sirens, loudspeaker vans and the information systems of Deutsche Bahn are used. The new cell broadcast method is to send notifications to every mobile phone that has received at this point in time. The so-called warning mix is intended to ensure that as many people as possible reach the information.
The flood disaster of 2021 showed how important such a warning can be in an emergency. At that time, the warnings came too late, and many residents could no longer save themselves.
December 6, 2022
Weather: It’s getting wintry in Germany
Winter is now also arriving in Germany. We can expect low temperatures at the weekend, which will result in 5 to 10 centimeters of snow, especially in southern and eastern Germany.
On December 9th, cold air masses from the polar region will reach us, accompanied by humid air from the south. Temperatures around zero are already causing the first snowfalls in the south on Friday, while the north will initially remain dry. At the weekend, the north will also be affected by the wintry weather and a few centimeters of snow can be expected, while the larger amounts of snow will mainly fall in the higher regions.
At the beginning of next week, the cold temperatures will continue to accompany us without new snow, apart from the southern federal states such as Baden-Württemberg.
It gets really cold at night. Experts speak of up to minus 12 degrees – especially in the regions where there is a few centimeters of snow. Nights with permafrost await us. Should the Siberian cold high Erik move further to Europe, the probability of a wintry Christmas is no longer so small.
December 5, 2022
Is the end of the moral police in Iran sealed?
The mass protests in Iran have been going on for several months and the political situation continues to deteriorate. Last Sunday, the government under President Ebrahim Raisi held a crisis summit in the parliament in Tehran to assess events and discuss how to proceed. This is reported by the Isna news agency.
In addition, the day before, the Attorney General Mohammed Jafar Montaseri had made the following statement on the controversial vice police, according to Isna: “The vice police have nothing to do with the judiciary and were closed by those who set them up in the past.” As a result, the criticized institution responsible for adhering to dress codes in Iran, especially for women, would be dissolved.
However, experts do not believe that the organization, which has existed since 2005 with a short interruption, should ever be abolished. According to the political scientist Ali Alfoneh, it is probably a kind of diversionary maneuver on the part of the government to contain the unrest in the country and still not have to make any political concessions. Also, the end of the moral police has not yet been confirmed by any official institution.
Even more news
That was the news in November.
Sources used: tagesschau.de, deutschlandfunk.de, spiegel.de, wetterprognose-wettervorhersage.de, wetteronline.de