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Everyone who wants a vaccination should have received two stitches and be fully immunized by September, Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein (Greens) announced Tuesday. To prevent a fourth Corona wave, 80 percent of the Austrian population should be fully immunized by the fall. Currently, we are at 37 percent of the over-12s.
At present, however, vaccination readiness looks poor: Several provinces report that vaccination appointments are available but not yet booked. In Upper Austria alone, almost 89,000 appointments are free.
This “registration valley” in the summer was to be expected, says Katharina Reich, Director General for Public Health, on Tuesday in the “ZiB2”. After the summer, she expects an upswing again. In the fall, larger deliveries from pharmaceutical companies are also coming again.
Third round for high-risk patients starting in October
In October, the high-risk patients who were already vaccinated in January will also be given another round. Whether and when the third vaccination dose will be necessary for the rest of the population is still being determined, Reich explained. However, it is currently assumed that the vaccine from Biontech/Pfizer will last longer than nine months.
The company also plans to expand its PCR testing offerings over the summer. The free “Alles gurgelt” campaign, which has been running in Vienna since February, is to serve as a model in other provinces.
The Ministry of Health also recommends that vaccination be made compulsory for certain professions, such as kindergarten teachers or hospital staff, but this is the responsibility of the provinces.
Mask should remain
Director General Reich has mixed feelings about the relaxation steps. As of July 1, the mask requirement is to be dropped in areas where the 3-G rule applies. In public transportation and stores, ordinary mouth-to-nose protection will suffice. Reich believes these plans – as well as allowing nighttime restaurants to open July 1 – are defensible.
She is, however, opposed to the idea of doing away with the mask altogether from the end of July – not least because of the delta variant, which has already led to tightening in some countries around the world.
That the FFP2 mask is difficult in the summer heat is understandable. The ordinary mask, however, is “cheap, and we are used to it by now.” Therefore, she pleads for at least maintaining this protection.
— source: kurier.at/picture: https://www.forschung-und-lehre.de/
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