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The RKI has recorded 14,455 new corona infections and 240 deaths. The numbers are lower than a week ago, but this is mainly due to the holidays. Health Minister Spahn warned of teething problems when starting vaccination.
The number of new corona infections also remains high around Christmas. The Robert Koch Institute reported 14,455 new infections and another 240 deaths in the morning. The day before, 25,533 new infections and 412 deaths were registered. The total number of corona infections recorded in Germany since the start of the pandemic rose to 1,627,103, of which 1,223,700 people have recovered from an infection according to the RKI. 29,422 people died in total in relation to the coronavirus.
The so-called seven-day incidence on Saturday was 170.7. The day before it was 188.8. The value is the number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants during this period. The value is an essential criterion for the imposition and relaxation of measures against the spread of the new virus. The goal of the federal government is to reduce the incidence below 50.
The numbers are only partially comparable with the values of the previous week, because the RKI expects fewer tests and fewer reports from health authorities during the holidays. On Saturday a week ago there were 31,300 new infections. The peak of 952 deaths was recorded on December 16.
Vaccine doses reach the federal states
One day before the start of corona vaccines in Germany, the first doses of vaccine reached the individual federal states. In Bavaria, the Minister of the Interior, Joachim Herrmann, and the Minister of Health, Melanie Huml, received the delivery in Erlangen that morning. It was half of the first 9,750 doses of vaccines destined for the Free State, Huml said. The remaining cans should reach Munich. In Thuringia, a logistics company brought the vaccine in refrigerated transport and accompanied by the police for storage in a place that was not initially specified. In other federal states as well, preparations to distribute the vaccine were in full swing.
The federal government has tens of thousands of cans of Biontech delivered to a total of 27 locations. From there they will be distributed to vaccination centers and mobile teams, which will then administer the first vaccines on Sunday. First, people over 80 years of age should be vaccinated, as well as nurses and hospital staff who are at particular risk.
Spahn informs about the start of vaccination
Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn will report on the vaccination at a press conference in the morning. He has already prepared the population for possible initial problems: “It will shake at first.” In Düsseldorf, the Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Armin Laschet, and the Minister of Health of the NRW, Karl Josef Laumann, want to speak after the arrival of the first vaccine to the state.
By the end of March, between 11 and 12 million doses of vaccines should be available. Since the preparation has to be administered twice, this amount would be sufficient for approximately 5.5 to 6 million people. Spahn assumes that he will be able to make a “vaccination offer” to all citizens in Germany for the summer, provided other preparations are approved. In addition to the vaccine from Biontech and its US partner Pfizer, the drug from the US company Moderna is currently playing a role and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) plans to decide on its approval before January 6.
Lindner calls for improvements
The German Association of Cities lowered expectations of the start of vaccination. “It has started, but the ghost with the dangerous corona virus is not over yet,” City Council President Burkhard Jung told the Funke media group newspapers. The infection situation remains worrying today and the time for mass vaccination has not yet come. “Initially there are very few vaccines for this,” said the SPD politician, who is also the mayor of Leipzig.
The president of the FDP, Christian Lindner, considers that Germany “is not adequately prepared for vaccination”. The FDP would have liked to have a clear legal basis for this, because such important questions of life and death should be decided on the broader basis, Lindner told the dpa news agency. “Regarding the issue of logistics, we must use the resident medical area beyond the vaccination centers as soon as possible, so that we can move forward quickly with vaccination,” warned the leader of the FDP. Lindner called for more vaccine doses to be obtained as soon as possible. He also advocated for an extensive information campaign and an improved Corona warning app.
