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Friday 23 October 2020
Corona cases in Germany are growing as fast as expectations for a vaccine against the virus. But it could soon be the case: Health Minister Spahn and several pharmaceutical companies expect the first vaccines in early 2021.
In the Corona crisis, in view of the rapidly increasing number of infections, growing expectations are directed towards a vaccine against the virus. The Federal Ministry of Health confirmed its assessment that the first corona vaccines will likely be possible in the first months of next year. Meanwhile, there is growing evidence that health authorities in some cities can no longer keep up with chains of infection.
According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), offices reported more than 11,000 new corona infections in one day for the second time. The number of 11,242 new infections released by the RKI in the morning was only slightly below the previous high level the day before (11,287 cases).
A Health Ministry spokesman said on request on Friday that a vaccine is still supposed to be available in early 2021. “Spiegel” quotes CDU Health Minister Jens Spahn in his new issue as saying it could be January. Maybe February or March, or even later.
“It could happen before the end of the year”
“Bild” had previously reported earlier in the week, citing participants in a videoconference of state health ministers with Spahn, that vaccines might be possible sooner. Spahn said the Mainz company Biontech was about to approve a vaccine. When asked when he expected the first vaccines, Spahn said: “That could happen before the end of the year.” The CEO of the Tübingen-based biopharmaceutical company Curevac, Franz-Werner Haas, is still expecting a vaccine from his company to hit the market in the first half of 2021. After the Biontec company from Mainz, the Curevac company was the second German company to receive approval for a clinical study.
The president of the World Medical Association, Frank Ulrich Montgomery, warned that in the event of a further increase, with 20,000 new infections per day the situation would spiral out of control. “Then it would no longer be possible for the health authorities to trace and interrupt the chains of infection,” he told the “Rheinische Post”. Government spokesman Steffen Seibert said on Friday that health authorities in several German cities and parts of Berlin are overburdened, so they cannot always understand the contacts of those affected.
“It is no longer possible to investigate all cases in detail,” said the head of the Frankfurt health department, René Gottschalk, in the ZDF “Morgenmagazin”. “We are no longer able to reach all the contact persons who tested positive within 24 hours,” Falko Liecke, Health Councilor for the Berlin district of Neukölln, which was severely affected by the pandemic, said on n-tv.
The head of the public health service physicians association, Ute Teichert, told Deutschlandfunk that the situation was difficult, but did not want to talk about a collapse. “As the numbers go up right now, you can’t reload that fast. In fact, there is a problem,” Teichert said. The Bundeswehr is currently deployed with nearly 2,000 members, 1,561 of whom are assisting health authorities, as a “Rheinische Post” Defense Ministry spokesman said.
“We need discipline now”
The number of corona patients in hospital intensive care units is also increasing. According to figures from the intensive care registry of the German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (DIVI), 1121 patients with Covid-19 are currently being treated in intensive care. A week ago it was 690, two weeks ago 510 and a month ago 293. Currently, 478 patients with corona are ventilated. As a result, 21,736 intensive care beds are currently occupied. 7784 are free. There are 873 free beds for less than a week.
In addition, there is an “emergency reserve” of 12,717 intensive care beds that would be available in seven days. According to DIVI President Uwe Janssen, an overload of intensive care capabilities is not currently to be expected. Several prime ministers urged people to abide by the crown’s hygiene rules. “We have to manage to break this wave. (…) And if we do a little more now, we will have less consequences later,” said Bavarian CSU Prime Minister Markus Söder on the “ZDF special” program. The mayor of the Hamburg SPD, Peter Tschentscher, warned that everyone should now understand the seriousness of the situation. “We need discipline now,” he said on ZDF’s “Maybrit Illner” show.
The ruling mayor of the Berlin SPD, Michael Müller, made it clear in ZDF’s “Heute Journal” that “there are not many options left for decisions.” The head of government of the CDU of Saarland, Tobias Hans, said in the ZDF “Morgenmagazin” that after the summer life was “normal” with holidays and celebrations, people would have to take the situation more seriously again, as in March and April.
According to the ZDF polybarometer, 30 percent of citizens are in favor of even tighter crown restrictions. 54 percent consider that the measures are correct and 14 percent excessive. In particular, the mask requirement and limitation of the number of participants in private gatherings and celebrations are widely approved, and in many places the early closure of bars and restaurants is only supported by a narrow majority.
