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Vaccinations against the coronavirus are scheduled to begin in Germany on Dec. 27. Health Minister Jens Spahn informed the Conference of Health Ministers about the approval and supply of the vaccine from Biontech and Pfizer, the city of Berlin announced yesterday.
“For the federal states, this results in December 27 as the start date,” it said. In particular, it said, vaccination should begin in nursing homes. Earlier, news agency Reuters had learned from insiders that the move was subject to approval on Dec. 23 by the EU and subsequent batch testing by the Paul Ehrlich Institute.
High numbers reported
Germany recently reported a peak in new deaths and a further increase in infection numbers. Health authorities reported 952 more deaths and 27,728 new infections to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). A week ago, 20,815 new infections and 590 deaths had been reported. The high numbers now can be explained in part by follow-up reports of data from the previous day by the state of Saxony.
Also, hospitals are increasingly filling up. According to Spahn, currently “all patients can be cared for, but just under the greatest load and partly also overload in the individual clinics,” said the minister to ZDF “special”.
The situation in Germany varies, said Spahn. In Sachsen, for example, there is a high incidence of infection and an older population on average, which means that there are more severe and most severe courses of infection. This “makes it necessary, for example, to transfer patients from one hospital to another in order to free up capacity. The situation is very tense, he said, so imposing tougher measures is the right thing to do.
Reports of strict measures in Sachsen
According to media reports, Sachsen is considering more drastic measures to curb the numbers, which continue to rise. According to “Bild” newspaper and “Freier Presse” (online and Wednesday editions, respectively), the state government is considering sealing off municipalities with a particularly tense situation from the outside world. In addition, nighttime exit restrictions could be tightened. According to these reports, residents would then only be allowed to go shopping during a predetermined time window and by the shortest route.
Sachsen’s government spokesman Ralph Schreiber said in response to these reports when asked by dpa: “The situation is tense, and many people are very worried. There is currently no concrete decision for further measures.”
hp, Source: ORF.at/agencies, picture: pixabay.com
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