Berlin – The rising corona numbers are a cause for concern. The Robert Koch Institute reported 1071 new corona cases for Berlin on Friday, and 24,668 new cases were registered nationwide. The seven-day incidence increased from 130.2 to 139.2. In Berlin it is 137.9. The RKI advises that people should limit contacts, have themselves regularly tested, have their vaccinations refreshed and stay at home if they have mild flu symptoms. The still rather low vaccination rate is also to blame for the high infection rate.
The seven-day incidence has been rising continuously for two weeks. Last Friday, the national average value exceeded the 100 mark for the first time since May. According to the RKI, the consequences can already be felt in the intensive care units. The total number of registered cases of infection since the start of the pandemic rose to 4,559,120, the total number of recorded deaths in connection with a corona infection to 95,606. Since then, 222,418 infections have been counted in Berlin, 3700 people have died from or with corona.
The federal government also appealed again on Friday to be vaccinated. The rate is currently 66.5 percent. Of course, vaccinated people could also become infected, but the course of the disease is usually safer, said government spokeswoman Martina Fietz. She emphasized that due to the acute situation, the federal government was ready at any time to convene a corona summit with the states. This was also confirmed by Chancellery Minister Helge Braun. He emphasized that everyone should be careful now to avoid infection. On the part of the Federal Ministry of Health, it was said that the vaccination campaigns continue. However, spokesman Andreas Deffner doubted whether anti-vaccination campaigners could really rethink their approach. There are still numerous offers, there is no shortage of them. Those who hesitated are more likely to convince, he said.
Federal Ministry of Health: People who do not want to be vaccinated are difficult to reach
Deffner was referring to the latest Forsa survey: According to it, 65 percent of those who have not been vaccinated are still not ready to be immunized. The survey was commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Health. Another 23 percent were rather averse. Only five percent plan firmly to get vaccinated in the next two months, seven percent are still undecided. 89 percent of those surveyed said that it would have no effect on their willingness to be vaccinated if the intensive care units reached their capacity limits.
With the high number of infections, the debate about booster vaccinations is also growing. What is meant is that you should also have the third injection, which is provided for almost all corona vaccines. This is currently only recommended for over-60s, but also for high-risk patients, carers and medical staff.
However, the Robert Koch Institute also points out that other population groups also benefit from such a booster vaccination, including those who are already fully vaccinated. Citing own calculations, it was said that a “pronounced effect” of the corona vaccination to prevent Covid 19 diseases and hospital admissions in Germany has been proven.
Booster vaccinations have been carried out in medical practices in Berlin since the end of August. As of today, around 71,000 people there have received the so-called booster vaccination, of which more than 57,000 are in the over 60 age group. This is reported by the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians.
Overall, however, the vaccination rate in the practices has decreased significantly compared to the months of April to July. “Although we can now record more than two million Covid-19 vaccinations in our practices, the vaccination curve is noticeably flattening out. That worries us, hence our appeal today. Go vaccinate. Berlin’s medical practices are ready, ”says the Berlin KV board chairman Burkhard Ruppert.
Marburger Bund warns of bottlenecks in hospitals
The RKI compared the respective incidences in the unvaccinated and the fully vaccinated population. Result: In the vaccinated population, both the weekly incidence of cases with symptoms and the incidence of hospital admissions were well below the respective values of the unvaccinated population, it said. This applies to the two age groups analyzed (18 to 59 and from 60 years of age) and to the entire study period from mid-July to mid-October.
The Marburger Bund doctors’ union, however, again warned of drastic bottlenecks in hospitals, as in previous high phases of the pandemic. “I do not want to experience again that operations have to be canceled because of Covid-19, because otherwise the supply cannot be managed,” said chairwoman Susanne Johna of the newspapers of the Funke media group.
And the virologist Hendrik Streeck also sees the country inadequately armed. “Unfortunately, we are going again very unprepared in autumn and winter,” said the director of the Virology Institute at the University of Bonn. “The capacities in intensive care units are reduced, we can also expect a flu epidemic again if necessary, we do not have a good record of the infection process, but again a higher mobility.”