The federal government wants to make traveling abroad easier again in Corona times. Strict rules should only apply if even worse variants than Omicron appear.
There should be some relief in the Corona rules for those returning from vacation – especially for families with children. This provides for changes to the entry regulation by Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD), which the Federal Cabinet is to deal with on Wednesday.
For example, countries should only be classified as high-risk areas with more extensive requirements when returning to Germany if virus variants with “more pathogenic properties” are rampant there than the omicron variant that dominates in this country. The new regulations should take effect from March 4th.
Facilitation for children
It should be possible for children under the age of 12 to test themselves directly from an otherwise pending quarantine after returning from high-risk areas. So far, the general rule has been: Anyone who comes from such areas and has not been fully vaccinated or recovered must be in quarantine for ten days and can only get out of it five days after entry with a negative test at the earliest. For children under the age of 6, the isolation ends automatically five days after entry – but without the opportunity to test themselves earlier if they have no proof that they have recovered or been vaccinated.
To justify the facilitation for children, the Ministry also points out that the Standing Vaccination Commission has not yet issued any general vaccination recommendations for children under the age of 12. In general, the 3G rule continues to apply to entries from all countries – those who have not been vaccinated or have recovered must have a negative test.
New vaccine on the way
The first doses of Novavax’s new corona vaccine could also arrive in Germany on Wednesday. The first delivery is expected to be 1.4 million doses by the end of the week, according to earlier figures from the Health Ministry. They should be distributed immediately to the countries so that vaccinations can start in the coming week.
It is hoped that Novavax could be an alternative for some who have not vaccinated with previous mRNA vaccines from Biontech and Moderna. The Novavax vaccine is based on a more classic process.
According to immunologists, anyone who is vaccinated with Novavax will also need a triple vaccination for full vaccination protection. “Novavax also has to be refreshed (…) three to six months after the second vaccination,” said the Secretary General of the German Society for Immunology, Carsten Watzl, of the “Augsburger Allgemeine”. According to the report, Novavax has not yet been approved for booster vaccinations by the European Medicines Agency EMA.
As a spokeswoman for the American vaccine manufacturer explained to the newspaper, Novavax is already conducting relevant studies and intends to apply for booster approval this year. “You can also use Novavax for the booster, even those who have previously received an mRNA vaccination,” said Watzl. Like the other vaccines, Novavax was originally developed using the original virus, so it is not specifically adapted to the omicron variant.
Source: Stern
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