Young infected people, low values in the hospitals and the delta variant that is still spreading: The Robert Koch Institute publishes a lot of pandemic data in one fell swoop.
Berlin – According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the increase in the seven-day incidence in Germany has so far mainly been observed in people between the ages of 15 and 34.
While the values in the groups aged 60 and over changed only minimally and at a very low level in the past few weeks, the RKI recorded relatively strong increases for younger people. This emerges from a weekly Covid-19 management report that the RKI recently presented on Thursdays. The most important data at a glance:
HIGHEST INCIDENCE: The highest seven-day incidence of 32 in the past week was found in adolescents and young adults between the ages of 15 and 24, according to the report. At this age, severe disease courses from Covid-19 are relatively rare. The vaccination rates for people under 60 are also significantly lower than for those over 60. In these groups, fewer than 5 cases per 100,000 inhabitants are recorded within seven days.
HOSPITALS: The extent to which the pandemic is noticeable there should become more important when assessing the situation. An expanded reporting requirement has been new since mid-June, as clinical data have not been recorded in full so far. Regarding the current situation, the RKI writes that the decline in the number of patients in hospitals and intensive care units is currently not continuing. The values are currently at a low level.
VARIANTS: The delta variant discovered in India has also dominated in Germany for a long time. In a random sample selected for genetic analysis, their share was now 84 percent, writes the RKI. This is a further increase compared to the previous week, when the proportion was around two thirds.
TRAVEL: According to the RKI, there are increasing cases in which those affected were probably exposed to the virus abroad. The most common information currently is Spain. The popular holiday destination has much higher incidences than Germany.
TESTS: For weeks there has been less and less testing in the laboratory for corona. The new low for 2021 was recorded last week with 592,221 PCR tests. Of these, 1.64 percent were positive.
IMPECTIVITY: “By far the largest part” of the Covid 19 cases transmitted since February 1 had not been vaccinated, the report says. According to the RKI estimate, the effectiveness of the vaccination for the period from the beginning of February to July 11 for 18 to 59 year olds is around 89 percent, for people aged 60 and over it is around 87 percent. The RKI sees the high effectiveness confirmed by the clinical studies.
INFECTED VACCINATED PEOPLE: A total of 6125 so-called vaccination breakthroughs have been recorded since the beginning of February, it is said. Most of the time, such cases are mild, and in comparison to the total number of those fully vaccinated – around 40 million people in Germany – they are rare. According to the RKI, a good quarter of those affected over the age of 60 came to the hospital. However, the RKI believes that illnesses in vaccinated persons will be under-recorded, which is why the effectiveness of the vaccines is “rather overestimated”. dpa
