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Spahn: contact restrictions even after January 10
Even after January 10, a sharp reduction in contacts will be necessary in any case, Spahn said. Regarding the issue of opening schools and kindergartens, he referred to the federal-state consultations scheduled for January 5, which he did not want to anticipate.
When in doubt, he says, “Better now a week too long than a week too short.” The goal is to be able to cope with the infection for a longer period of time.
Regarding the turn of the year, Spahn again warned the population to be cautious: “It is necessary that this is probably the quietest New Year’s Eve Germany can remember.”
Corona vaccines: Spahn asks for patience
After the start of the corona vaccines, Spahn cautioned for patience. “The vaccine is in short supply around the world,” Spahn said in Berlin on Wednesday. Understand that many people are getting impatient and want to get vaccinated as soon as possible. Gradually, more doses of the Biontech / Pfizer vaccine and other vaccines would be available.
More than 60,000 Germans vaccinated so far
“The start of the vaccination was successful,” Spahn said after vaccinations began across the EU on Sunday. This year alone, more than 1.3 million doses will be delivered in Germany, and more than 60,000 Germans have already been vaccinated, especially in nursing homes.
But Spahn also admitted that there were some problems early in the campaign: “Yeah, it shakes at one point or another,” he said. However, overall, the “largest vaccination campaign in German history has started successfully,” Spahn said.
“Let’s give priority now to those who need the vaccine most urgently, because it protects them better,” Spahn said, naming the very old, those who need care and those who care for them. The minister explicitly asked medical professionals and nurses to get vaccinated. You have a “double responsibility”. “You are a role model for many and you protect yourself and others,” Spahn said.
Spahn advocates a common European approach
When asked about criticism that Germany has not had enough vaccine doses compared to countries like Britain or Israel, Spahn insistently replied that the decision was made mainly by the common European path. However, now, following the European solution, there is a bilateral contract with Biontech on new doses of vaccination. Besides the European Union, there are only a small number of individual countries that have a vaccine. Some other nations would likely have to do without a vaccine for months, Spahn said.
Cichutek promotes the vaccine
The president of the Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI), Klaus Cichutek, once again strongly promoted the effectiveness of the Biontech / Pfizer vaccine at the press conference: “We have a very effective vaccine that has been tested according to all the rules. Of art”.
Modern vaccine approval in early January
In early January, Spahn awaits the approval of another vaccine, that of the American biotech Moderna. “Starting today, we can wait for the approval of another vaccine by Moderna next week,” he announced. One is talking to Moderna to be able to secure a fast delivery. He assumes that between one and a half million and two million doses of the Moderna vaccine will be available in the first trimester. “If it is approved on January 6, I still don’t see that we can start directly on January 7,” he admits. But every effort is made to make the vaccine available as quickly as possible.
The full press conference can be seen on the BR24 Facebook channel:
