If Health Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens) has his way, we will have to prepare for further corona waves. “We will have waves, not only this year, but also in the future,” he said on Thursday, “But we can muffle them to unburden the hospitals.” The best method for this is vaccination.
“We have to adapt to living with Covid. The virus has come to stay.” However, after two years of the pandemic, people have learned ‘a little’ how to deal with it, but that doesn’t mean the measures have been lifted or not vaccinated.
According to Rauch, vaccination is an important moment in the fight against the pandemic. Because it prevents serious illnesses and hospitalizations, which can dampen the tops of any waves. The vaccination has been discredited because – as expected – it does not protect against infection, the health minister admitted: “But that is not the message.” You can of course become infected, but the vaccination protects against becoming seriously ill. in the hospital or intensive care unit.
Renew vaccinations
As the Director-General of Public Health Katharina Reich emphasized, the recommendation is that the group of the over-65s, the frail and the chronically ill be vaccinated before the summer. In that context, similar actions will also be taken in nursing homes, she announced. Everyone else should refresh when the seasonal bonus is over, ie in the fall. Reich expects a corresponding advice from the National Immunization Commission before the summer: “So everyone can plan.”
Simulation researcher Niki Popper, who calculated different scenarios with differently pronounced peaks depending on the vaccination situation and the infection rate of new variants, also championed vaccination. Because the models show that vaccination helps. For example, with the right vaccination, the spike in hospitalizations can be reduced by 25 percent.
Test regimen continues as usual
Rauch also announced that the current testing regime with just five free PCR tests and five free antigen tests will be extended until the end of the year. With the quarantine rules, you have to think about how they will be shaped in the future. Since with the spring peaks contact tracing was not always possible, “you have to be honest”.
Numbers rise, but no lockdown in sight
In the summer, Rauch expects the numbers to increase, which is “no surprise.” However, a lockdown is not “in sight”. Avoiding school closures – “as long as possible” – is also part of the objective. Because this leads to educational losses that cannot be recovered.
Mask is coming back
However, the obligation to wear masks could make a comeback in the fall, Rauch said: “In the fall we will wear masks again because it’s the gentlest possible way.” You will have to live with that too.
Source: Krone
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