Tuesday, November 02, 2021
For employees and visitors
Spahn plans mandatory testing for nursing homes
According to Health Minister Spahn, anyone who is vaccinated should also have to submit a negative corona test before he or she enters a nursing home. The supervisory authorities should control strictly. The question now is what the countries think of these plans.
The acting Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn is planning a strict test regime for care facilities – for staff and visitors. This emerges from the draft by Spahn’s Ministry for the upcoming health ministerial conference with the countries, which was submitted to the AFP news agency. In autumn and winter 2021/2022, staff – regardless of their vaccination status – should be tested for the coronavirus twice a week. Visitors would “also have to show a negative test result regardless of their vaccination status”, which must not be older than 24 hours. The implementation of these requirements in care facilities should be checked “closely” by the responsible supervisory authorities.
In addition, Spahn wants to enable all citizens regardless of their age to have a booster vaccination against the corona virus. This vaccination should “in principle be offered to all people who wish to do so within six months of the completion of the first series of vaccinations”. The booster vaccinations could take place “within the framework of the available capacities and according to a medical assessment and decision,” says the draft. These vaccinations should primarily be offered to people who are particularly at risk – “whereby the focus is primarily on old people’s and nursing homes”.
According to Spahn’s ideas, the national associations of statutory health insurance physicians (KV) and the doctors involved in the vaccination campaign should actively provide information about the recommendation and offer of booster vaccinations. In particular, the federal states should “inform all citizens over the age of 60 about the recommendation for a booster vaccination”. The proposal from the ministry also confirms Spahn’s demand that the federal states “reactivate” the vaccination centers for booster vaccinations.
100,000 booster vaccinations per day
To justify the measures, Spahn’s Ministry points to the “rapid increase in new infections in almost all age groups”. “Numerous scientific studies prove the higher protective effect of booster vaccinations by optimizing the basic immunity against a Covid-19 infection,” says the template. “Should an infection nevertheless occur, they offer excellent protection against a serious course of the disease and at the same time lead to a lower viral load and thus to a lower level of infectivity.”
According to the ministry, “up to over 100,000 booster vaccinations are now administered daily”. The conference of health ministers is planned for the end of the week. The submission from the ministry is dated Friday.