The corona incidence is falling again in Germany. Meanwhile there is a debate about the fourth vaccination.
+++ 11.00 a.m .: In Germany, a debate has been developing for some time about whether a fourth corona vaccination is imminent for the population – or not. For example, only risk groups could be boosted the second time. Two weeks ago, the Standing Vaccination Committee advocated a fourth vaccination: for people over the age of 70, for those in need of care in homes and other facilities and for people with immune deficiencies.
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach has strongly doubted a fourth vaccination for the entire population in relation to new data from Israel. “These data from Israel tend to speak against the 4th vaccination for all,” he commented on Twitter. According to the researchers involved, the study showed the need for vaccines specially adapted to the omicron: “Vaccination, which was very effective against previous variants, is less effective against the omicron variant,” explained epidemiologist Gili Regev-Yochay. According to the data from the study, the antibody level rose after the four vaccinations to the same level that was present after the third vaccination. Despite rather “mild breakthrough infections”, this is a problem, the scientists emphasized: “Low effectiveness in preventing mild or asymptomatic omicron infections and the contagious potential of breakthrough infections increase the urgency with which next-generation vaccines must be developed .”
Corona vaccines adapted to the Omicron variant are already being developed by several manufacturers such as Biontech/Pfizer or Moderna. They should be available in spring.
Corona case numbers: Incidence falls again – experts doubt meaningfulness
First report from Thursday, February 17th, 2022, 4 a.m.: Berlin/Frankfurt – The nationwide seven-day incidence has fallen again – now for the fifth day in a row. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) gave the value of new corona infections per 100,000 inhabitants and week on Thursday (02/17/2022) as 1385.1. This increases the evidence that the omicron wave actually breaks.
Corona in Germany: development of the number of cases in a weekly overview
| Day | new infections | Deaths | incidence |
|---|---|
| Thursday (02/17/2022) | 235,626 | 261 | 1385.1 |
| Wednesday (02/16/2022) | 219,972 | 247 | 1401.0 |
| Tuesday (02/15/2022) | 159.217 | 243 | 1437.5 |
| Monday (02/14/2022) | 76,465 | 42 | 1459.8 |
| Sunday (02/13/2022) | 125.160 | 58 | 1466.5 |
| Saturday (02/12/2022) | 209,789 | 198 | 1474.3 |
| Friday (02/11/2022) | 240.172 | 226 | 1472.2 |
| Thursday (02/10/2022) | 247,862 | 238 | 1465.4 |
| Source: Robert Koch Institute / RKI |
Yesterday, on Wednesday (02/16/2022), the seven-day incidence for Germany was 1401. On Thursday of the previous week the value was 1465.4.
As the RKI announced, citing data from the health authorities, the number of new infections within 24 hours on Thursday morning was 235,626 – after 219,972 on Wednesday and 247,862 on Thursday last week. As the RKI further announced, 261 other deaths in connection with the corona virus were also recorded on Thursday.
Corona in Germany: a total of over 13 million cases of infection
According to the RKI, the health authorities have recorded a total of 13,035,941 cases of infection since the beginning of the pandemic. The total number of registered corona deaths in Germany is now 120,728. The RKI puts the number of people who have recovered from corona disease in Germany at around 9,320,700.
In November, the federal and state governments had defined the so-called hospitalization incidence as the decisive benchmark for tightening or relaxing the corona measures. This value indicates how many people per 100,000 inhabitants are hospitalized within seven days because of a corona infection. These include people with a positive corona test who have another main disease. According to the latest RKI report, the hospitalization incidence nationwide on Wednesday was 6.04. A week ago it was 6.07.
Corona case numbers in Germany: experts assume higher values
The numbers are of limited value at the moment. Experts assume a high number of cases that are not recorded in the RKI data. Test capacities and health authorities are therefore at the limit in many places, and contacts are only tracked to a limited extent. In addition, the number of people who no longer have their infection confirmed by a PCR test is likely to increase – the infection is therefore not included in the official statistics.
(skr/tu with dpa/AFP)
List of rubrics: © Kay Nietfeld/dpa
