The incidences in Hessen are increasing. Does a third vaccination make sense in the fight against the corona pandemic?
Frankfurt – The Corona * pandemic has not yet been overcome. For a few weeks now, the number of cases in Hessen * and Germany has been rising rapidly again. The seven-day incidence in Hesse on Tuesday (08/24/2021) averaged 56.3. At the beginning of the month, on August 1, the value was still 18.6 nationwide. The low this summer, the incidence hit June 30 at 7.6. The experts at the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) are certain: the fourth wave has begun. According to scientists, vaccination against the virus is still the best way to get this wave behind you as lightly as possible.
Virologist Martin Stürmer from Frankfurt * explained in an interview with Hessischer Rundfunk that the numbers are increasing mainly because the virus primarily affects those who have not been vaccinated: “The virus is now looking for the path of least resistance”. Overall, almost 58% of the population in Hesse are currently fully vaccinated (as of August 24).
Corona in Hessen: Young people in particular are affected by infections
The spread of the coronavirus in recent weeks has therefore mainly affected young people who have so far not been able to or have not wanted to be vaccinated. At the same time, there is growing concern that Covid-19 will also affect high-risk patients again, as there are signs that the vaccination protection is waning after a while. Therefore, the debate about a third corona vaccination is now growing – and who should get it.
Third corona vaccination: Bavaria rushes forward when it is refreshed
As a pioneer in Germany, Bavaria began to administer third-party vaccinations on August 16. Especially people who have a higher risk of getting seriously ill with a coronavirus infection. The federal and state health ministers actually agreed at the beginning of August that a third dose of vaccine should not be administered until September. Although all corona vaccines approved in Germany offer a very high level of protection against the Sars-CoV-2 corona virus, according to the scientists, it is still unclear how long this protection actually lasts.
In order to protect them from serious illnesses, the health ministers have stipulated that primarily older people over 80 years of age, those in need of care and people with immunodeficiency should receive a third corona vaccination. Also because these groups were the first to be vaccinated at the start of the vaccination campaign in Germany and their second vaccination was therefore a few months ago. The refreshment should therefore take place at the earliest six months after the first creation of the complete vaccination protection – fourteen days after the second vaccination. Only the vaccines from Biontech and Moderna are used. This also applies to people who initially received full protection from a vector vaccine, such as Astrazeneca.
Corona vaccination: who should receive a third dose of vaccine from Biontech or Moderna?
Bavaria also adheres to the requirements of the Federal Ministry of Health in its refreshment campaign. According to this, old people, people with previous illnesses or a disability, cancer and rheumatism patients, patients after an organ transplant and residents of old people’s and nursing homes are to be vaccinated there for the third time. In the case of younger and, above all, healthy people, however, experts currently assume that the vaccination protection provided by two doses, or one with the vaccine from Johnson & Johnson, is initially sufficient to protect them from a serious disease course of Covid-19.
The Frankfurt virologist Stürmer sees it similarly. In an interview with HR, he explains that those who were vaccinated first will soon need a refresher in order to be protected against aggressive mutations such as the delta variant, for example. “But that is the only group for which I would really recommend the third vaccination. For all other people, I would say that we wait until science has clear figures about when, how, and where should be vaccinated, ”explained the expert.
Third corona vaccination in Hessen: demands for a refresher among educators are becoming loud
The Standing Vaccination Commission (Stiko) has not yet issued a recommendation for the so-called “booster vaccination”. Stiko boss Mertens had already emphasized at the beginning of August that the committee was intensively dealing with the issue of booster vaccinations against Corona. However, the database is not yet sufficient to make a clear recommendation. The RKI, on the other hand, has been recommending the “booster vaccinations” for the elderly and risk groups since the end of June. You have to be well prepared for the autumn, said the institute.
In addition to the risk groups, calls for a booster vaccination for particularly vulnerable occupational groups are already being raised. For example, the trade union for education and knowledge demands that educators in daycare centers receive a third vaccination in autumn. (iwe) * fnp.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
Header list image: © Ina Fassbender / afp
