The number of infections is rising again, mostly unvaccinated patients fill the intensive care units. But vaccinated people also end up there – despite immunization. The boosters could break the wave. But is politics doing enough for that?
It is not surprising that a fourth wave of corona infections is now piling up. Scientists have long warned against this and in the past year everyone could observe that the numbers rise towards winter. But now we have the vaccine, many thought, it won’t be that bad. The numerous vaccination breakthroughs show that this was thought too simply. As the Halle-based virologist Alexander Kekulé told ntv.de, the effectiveness of the available vaccines compared to the delta variant of the coronavirus is only 50 to 70 percent. Accordingly, it is to be expected that 30 to 50 people out of 100 vaccinated will still be infected.
That is why there is so much talk about third party vaccinations. They would increase the vaccination protection of the population as a whole and could help to break the wave – experience from Israel suggests this. The vaccination protection decreases over time, especially in older patients. It remains to be seen whether a refresher is necessary for everyone. Virologist Hendrick Streeck says, for example, that the younger ones are adequately protected with two doses of vaccine. Saxony, on the other hand, recommended the third vaccination for everyone over 18 this Friday, Thuringia went one better and approved it without age restriction. However, there is agreement that the elderly and high-risk patients should receive the third vaccination. The question is: Are politicians doing enough to ensure this? Or does she leave it too much to the individual to take care of them?
For example, what about the seniors who need protection most but are probably the least able to help themselves? Most vaccination centers have been closed since the end of September and the family and company doctors bear the brunt of the vaccinations. In addition, there are mobile vaccination teams in the federal states, which, like last winter, also go to old people’s and nursing homes to give the residents another injection. In total, a good 1.9 million third-party vaccinations have been administered since the end of September. The “Bild” newspaper calculated on Thursday that Belgium, France, Austria and others were much further ahead. The spokesman for the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KBV), Roland Stahl, told ntv.de that there was enough vaccine and appointments.
Something is happening, but is that enough?
The initiative often lies with the people themselves. If you imagine a fictional grandpa Hermann who lives in his own apartment at, say, 85 years of age, the question is whether you can simply assume that people like him manage to arrange a third appointment. If he has grandchildren and children, they can help. And if not? He is mostly dependent on himself.
It’s not that nothing happened. The Minister of Health of North Rhine-Westphalia, Karl-Josef Laumann, has announced that it will advertise the booster vaccination by letter to the 2.8 million over-70-year-olds in North Rhine-Westphalia. His Baden-Württemberg counterpart, Manne Lucha, called on the doctors to approach the patients themselves and promised the activation of 50 mobile vaccination teams.
In contrast, old people’s and nursing homes are looked after by mobile vaccination teams in many places. In response to a request from ntv.de, the Bavarian Ministry of Health announced that around 46,700 booster vaccinations had already been administered there. The other federal states proceed in a similar manner. In NRW, according to Laumann, 90 percent of the home residents have already received a booster vaccination. The aim is not to repeat the fiasco of last winter when it was not possible to protect the vulnerable groups, especially the elderly in homes. The big difference, of course, is that there were still no vaccines in November and December 2020.
But that is not enough for the German Foundation for Patient Protection. According to board member Eugen Brysch, there is no protection concept for the 900,000 nursing home residents in Germany. He also believes that a corona rescue package is necessary for the one million people in need of care at home. Binding tests are now also necessary again, he told ntv.de. Otherwise a disaster threatens.
What is the federal government actually doing?
The pandemic fight is currently again essentially taking place at the state level. Formally, the states always had the last word for their national territory anyway, but now there is hardly any vote at the federal level. Health Minister Spahn advertises booster vaccinations here and there, but nothing else comes out of his house. An ntv.de request whether the ministry is planning a large advertising campaign for the third-party vaccination, for example, remained unanswered until Friday evening. SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach had demanded that. At the beginning of the year, things looked very different when the vaccination campaign started with great euphoria. KBV spokesman Stahl also told ntv.de that such an advertising campaign would be a good idea.
The fact that the countries are in charge gives them the opportunity to react tailored to the local situation. But at the same time there is always a threat of a patchwork quilt, a mess of state regulations. The new approvals in Saxony and Thuringia for booster vaccinations have already given it. A new prime ministerial conference is not in sight. Chancellery Minister Helge Braun said early on at ntv that the initiative would have to come from the federal states. Obviously, nothing more can be expected from the federal government. You could say that she’s only temporarily in office. Unfortunately not the virus.