Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel and Health Minister Jens Spahn visited the Robert Koch Institute on Tuesday

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Health Minister Jens Spahn used a visit to the government’s agency for disease control and prevention, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), on Tuesday to urge the public to get vaccinated.

But the chancellor also said there were currently no plans to make the jab compulsory. The comments came a day after France made vaccines mandatory for all health workers.

Mandating vaccines could risk mistrust

Merkel said “We are still a long way off” from meeting the vaccine quota needed to stop aggressive new variants. Merkel said stopping the spread of the virus and defending against new variants would require 85% vaccination among 12-to-59-year-olds and 90% among those over 60.

Despite a slow start, about 43% of the nation’s population is now fully vaccinated.

Still, Merkel stressed there would be no obligation to vaccinate in Germany, saying that mandating shots could endanger public trust.

In outlining her preference for voluntary rather than mandatory vaccination, Merkel said: “I think we can gain trust by advertising vaccination and also by letting as many people as possible become ambassadors for the vaccine from their own experience.”

“And that’s why I tell everyone who is still unsure whether to get vaccinated: A vaccination not only protects you, but also those close to you, someone who is important to you, someone you love,” she added.

France, Greece, Italy take a different course

Yesterday, France gave healthcare workers until September 15 to get fully vaccinated or face suspension without pay.

Greece, too, on Monday announced mandatory immunization for healthcare workers who have until September 1 to get the jab; and nursing staff, who will be required to begin receiving vaccinations immediately. Italy imposed such a mandate in May.

On Tuesday, Belgian hospitals published an open letter calling for mandatory vaccinations at the nation’s hospitals and healthcare facilities.

Merkel called on people in the country to talk about getting the vaccine with their loved ones as well as in clubs, groups, and the workplace.

“The more vaccinated, the freer we will be again, the freer we can live again,” she added.

Spahn, meanwhile, said that it was no longer a valid excuse to claim there were no vaccine appointments available. He pointed to a large number of vaccines that were now on offer in the country.

Merkel said that the social distancing rules would continue as will the comprehensive testing program. While the signs were positive, the pandemic was not yet over, Merkel added.

Cases in Germany ticking up

Merkel made the comments as the RKI reported the country’s seven-day incidence rate had increased to 6.5 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants.

Merkel listened to the latest information on coronavirus variants from infections disease experts at the Robert Koch Institute

Despite being well below a peak of 195 per 100,000 in December 2020, the figure represents a slight increase from the low of 4.9 one week earlier.

The more contagious delta variant is thought to be behind more than 50% of active cases in the country.

Other key points from the RKI visit

During the visit to the Berlin-based agency, Merkel listened as officials discussed their current tasks, plans, and challenges in relation to the delta variant.

Merkel discussed plans to include the number of COVID-19 hospital admissions when assessing the nationwide state of the pandemic.

To date, the seven-day incidence rate has been the decisive metric.

Merkel said the seven-day incidence remained important but that the relationship between the incidence number and hospital admissions had changed. This is because the number of people experiencing serious COVID infections has fallen as a result of the country’s ongoing vaccination campaign.

In addition to providing protection against getting the virus in the first place, vaccines also make the severe illness less likely should a vaccinated person nevertheless become infected.

Government advisors, such as Wolfram Henn of the German Ethics Council, have also called for teachers to be immunized. The geneticist told Germany’s Bild newspaper: “Teachers and educators, by virtue of their choice of profession, have a very special responsibility towards the people entrusted to them.”

What do we know about the delta variant?

The new, more contagious delta variant itself has also undergone several mutations. The exact functions of those mutations have not yet been fully scientifically researched.

So far, however, it is known that they allow the virus to bind more easily to human cells and avoid some immune reactions, as Deepti Gurdasani, a clinical epidemiologist at the Queen Mary University of London, told DW.

Peggy Riese, a scientist at the Helmholtz Center for Infection Research in Braunschweig, Germany, says the delta mutation has also been found to produce higher viral loads, for example, in the throat.

Several European countries have recently reported rises in new infections partly driven by the variant, sparking fears of a European “delta wave.”

kmm, js/msh (dpa, AFP)

Source: https://www.dw.com/en/covid-angela-merkel-says-no-plans-for-mandatory-vaccines-in-germany/a-58250471

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Chancellor Angela Merkel has announced that most stores in Germany will shut from Wednesday, along with schools and daycare centers.

The new restrictions will be in effect until at least January 10 to help tackle the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, which threatens to overwhelm the country’s health system.

In a news conference that followed a meeting of federal and state leaders on Sunday, she said the country urgently needed to address the exponential rise in COVID-19 infections.

The decision is set to cause a major disruption for retailers, the education system, and the public in the lead-up to the Christmas holidays.

What do the new restrictions consist of?

• All nonessential shops and services will close until January 10, including hairdressers which remained open under the current lockdown “lite.”
• Schools are urged to send students home and continue lessons online, as well as extend the winter break until January 10.
• Daycare centers will also close, but parents will be able to take paid holidays in order to look after their children.
• Employers are encouraged to allow employees to work from home.
• People will not be allowed to drink alcohol in public.
• Religious events in churches, synagogues, and mosques may take place if they follow hygiene rules, but communal singing is not allowed.
• States still plan to ease stricter contact restrictions for December 24 to 26 so that close family members can spend Christmas together — a household may, during this time, invite up to four adults from other households but only from the immediate family, plus any number of children under 14.
• People may not purchase fireworks for New Year’s Eve.

The chancellor also recommended that families who are planning to meet up should isolate for a week beforehand to be safe.

What do the new rules aim to achieve?

“The measures which we began on November 2 have not been enough,” Merkel said in a statement after the meeting.

“The health system is under heavy strain and our aim has always been to avoid an overloading of the health care system,” Merkel said.

The goal of the new measures is to bring down the infection rate so that authorities can carry out contact tracing once again — the high number of infections made contact tracing impossible.

An acceptable infection rate for this would be 50 cases per 100,000 residents. Although the government has agreed to impose the new measures until January 10, they may be further extended if the case numbers fail to come down.

On Sunday, Germany’s Robert Koch Institute, which monitors infectious diseases, reported 20,200 new infections and 321 fatalities. The number is less than Friday’s record of 29.875 cases.

Germany’s intensive care unit capacity is also at a critical level, and doctors have warned that only 5% to 10% of intensive care beds are available in some parts of the country.

Harsher lockdown possible

Hans Brandt, a DW reported in Berlin, explained the relevance of the speedy decision that the government and heads of Germany’s 16 states made.

“It was somewhat surprising that they agreed so quickly,” Brandt said. “The whole meeting took just over an hour. We have been used to these discussions between the central government and the regional leaders dragging on for hours and hours, often with acrimonious discussions.”

The meeting over the new restrictions was shorter than previous meetings over coronavirus regulations had been.

Brandt described the shutting down of retail shops during the peak of Christmas shopping as “a very drastic measure.”

He said the new rules did not equate to the harshest possible lockdown and people had some leeway.

“A stricter lockdown is still conceivable since there is no rule that people have to stay at home,” Brandt said. “It’s still only an appeal.”

Brandt said Merkel had been pushing for a stricter lockdown for a while and would be satisfied with the decision.

Germany’s finance minister, Olaf Scholz, who was also present at the meeting, promised financial support for businesses and individuals affected by the stricter measures.

It remains unclear how exactly the government would support businesses, Brandt said, “but we know that the volume will be somewhere between €10 and €12 billion ($12.1-14.5 billion) every month” for businesses and self-employed people who cannot work because of the restrictions.

“Companies, the self-employed and freelancers who are affected by closures from December 16, will receive financial support,” according to a Twitter post by the Finance Ministry. “That means improved bridging aid — subsidies for fixed costs, better conditions, and higher monthly grants up to a maximum of €500,000.”

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