Corona vaccine: Apparently, agreement in the patent dispute is imminent

The incidence of new corona infections in Germany is increasing. The Bundestag takes internal measures. For poor countries there is hope in the patent dispute over vaccines.

+++ 6.30 p.m .: While compulsory corona vaccination is being discussed in Germany, there are still not enough vaccines available in poorer countries. But now, in the dispute over vaccine patents, an agreement for poorer countries could be imminent, the World Trade Organization (WTO) believes. “We hope that we can achieve a breakthrough in the coming weeks,” said WTO Chair Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. A “compromise solution” is apparently emerging that “allows developing countries better access to technology transfer and intellectual property while protecting innovation and research”.

India and South Africa proposed a temporary suspension of patent protection for vaccines last October in order to speed up the production of corona vaccines in developing countries and counteract the unequal distribution of vaccines. Since then, negotiations have been going on at WTO level. Drug companies and the countries in which they are based argue that patents are not the main obstacle to increasing production. At the same time, they warn that suspending patents would slow down innovation.

Virologist Sandra Ciesek against easing the corona protection measures

+++ 2 p.m .: The virologist Sandra Ciesek spoke out against relaxing the corona protection measures like in Great Britain or Denmark. “The lifting of the mask requirement or the contact restrictions will lead to more people getting infected,” said the director of the Institute for Medical Virology at the University Hospital Frankfurt am Main in a video conference with the Hessian Minister of Health Kai Klose (Greens).

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If you only look at the numbers of intensive care patients and those who have died and ignore other things, then you could perhaps withdraw the protective measures, said Ciesek. “But there is something between healthy and dead, and you should also pay attention to that.” As long as you do not know exactly what long-term consequences a Covid 19 disease has, you should be careful and maintain the restrictions. Wearing a mask is a simple and effective measure: “Everyone has one and it offers good protection indoors.” The mask reduces the dose of virus that is inhaled, so that the disease is less severe in the event of illness.

The virologist also emphasized the importance of vaccination. Never before have so many people been infected as with the currently rampant omicron variant, said Ciesek. “With three vaccinations you are well protected against a severe course of the disease,” Ciesek confirmed.

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Corona infections in Germany: Lauterbach is optimistic

+++ 12.18 p.m .: Despite the high number of corona cases, Karl Lauterbach was optimistic at the press conference on the corona situation on Friday morning. The Federal Health Minister explained that the omicron wave was well under control. So far, it has been possible to protect vulnerable groups and reduce serious illnesses and deaths. RKI President Lothar Wieler agreed with him. The goal remains to “reduce severe disease progression and maintain the ability of clinics, but also of other critical infrastructures, to work”.

In the press conference, Lauterbach defended the controversial reduction of the recovered status after a corona infection from six to three months. The recovered status for six months is “not certain” in view of the risk of infection and contagion that has not been averted, said Lauterbach.

Corona infections in Germany: Bundestag lifts compulsory presence

+++ 11.35 a.m .: In view of the new highs in corona infections (see first report), the Bundestag is thinning out its meeting calendar. On Tuesday, February 15, the obligation for MPs to be present will be lifted, said Bundestag President Bärbel Bas (SPD) in Berlin. The decision was made by the Board of Elders. The days immediately after February 15 are still designated as meeting days. In the first two weeks of February, no meeting days were planned anyway.

The Council of Elders determines the days on which sessions are held in the Bundestag in accordance with the provisions of the Members of the Bundestag Act. Members of Parliament are required to be present on these days. They must prove their presence by making an entry in an attendance list. If they do not comply, 100 euros will be deducted from their remuneration.

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Corona situation in Germany: Hendrik Streeck spreads hope

+++ 10.05 a.m .: Hendrik Streeck has called on people to be careful in view of the rapidly growing number of corona infections (see initial report). With such high numbers, everyone should be careful again and limit contacts, said the virologist in the ZDF “Morgenmagazin”. Those who have been vaccinated and – in a reduced form – those who have been boosted could also transmit the virus. “It’s really about bridging this time again until we have a trend reversal.” Then spring will come with falling numbers of cases. “It will be a good summer again,” predicted the member of the Federal Government’s Expert Council.

Streeck advised everyone to get vaccinated. You will not be able to avoid spreading the virus. “We will all come into contact with this virus at some point,” said the virologist. However, Streeck sees a general obligation to vaccinate “very skeptically”. There are other ways to get rid of the virus.

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Corona case numbers: RKI registers 190,148 new infections

First report from Friday, January 28th, 2022, 6:04 a.m.: Berlin – The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) has reported a significant increase in the nationwide seven-day incidence and thus a new high. The RKI gave the value of new infections per 100,000 people and week on Friday morning as 1073.0.

For comparison: the day before the value was 1017.4, on Friday last week it was 706.3. According to data from the health authorities, the number of new infections within 24 hours was 190,148 on Friday – after 203,136 the day before and 140,160 on Friday last week. This is evident from numbers that reflect the status of the RKI dashboard at 5 a.m. A week ago there were 140,160 infections.

Corona case numbers in Germany: new infections, deaths and incidence

As the RKI further announced, citing data from the health authorities, 170 new deaths related to the corona virus were counted on Friday. According to the latest information from the institute, the health authorities have recorded a total of 9,429,079 cases of infection since the beginning of the pandemic. The total number of registered corona deaths in Germany is now 117,484. The RKI puts the number of people in Germany who have recovered from an illness caused by the coronavirus at around 7,494,200.

The RKI gave the number of corona patients admitted to clinics per 100,000 people within seven days as 4.72 on Friday (4.64 on Thursday).

Corona in Germany: 32 percent of the tests are positive

In the most recent weekly report on Thursday, the RKI pointed out that 32 percent of the reported corona tests in Germany last week were positive. In the previous week it was still 24 percent. Due to the “massive” increase in “infection pressure”, there have long been fears that the registered infection numbers do not reflect the actual infection process.

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The RKI explained: “Even if every individual case is no longer recorded in the reporting system”, additional indicators allow “a reliable assessment of the overall development”. For the assessment of the situation in the current situation of the pandemic, “the focus is not on recording all infections caused by SARS-CoV-2, but on the development of the number and severity of the diseases”. (red/dpa/afp)

Header list image: © Daniel Leal / afp