According to intensive care physician Stefan Kluge, nobody can estimate how the pandemic will develop. However, he describes the statements by Health Minister Lauterbach on the Corona “killer variant” as “inappropriate”.
The head of the clinic for intensive care at the University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Stefan Kluge, considers the further development of the corona virus to be uncertain.
“No expert can currently say for sure which variant we will get in autumn,” said Kluge, who is also a member of the presidency of the German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (DIVI), the Funke media group. “However, we should be prepared for the fact that another variant can occur that leads to a higher severity of the disease than is currently the case with the omicron variant.”
Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD) had drawn criticism with warnings about a possible “killer variant” of the corona virus. Kluge said: “To describe a Corona variant as a “killer variant” is inappropriate.” There are other infections where the mortality rate is significantly higher than has been the case with Covid-19 so far. This includes severe bacterial sepsis (blood poisoning). “The omicron variant currently leads to very few severe Covid 19 courses,” explained Kluge. “We currently have a mortality rate of less than 0.1 percent at Omikron, comparable to the flu.”
Kluge: Getting older people to vaccinate
Kluge advised trying a campaign to get unvaccinated people over the age of 60 to vaccinate against the corona virus. “A larger basic immunization in the population would help us significantly. In addition, the vaccines must be further developed.” According to data from the Robert Koch Institute on Monday, 76.1 percent of people in Germany have received basic protection, which usually requires two injections. 59.1 percent also received a booster vaccination.
But Kluge also warned that enough vaccine and corona tests should be available so that the vaccination and test centers can be started up again quickly if necessary. “Digitization must also be pushed forward, in many areas of the healthcare system we lack important data,” he said. “Sufficient protective materials such as FFP2 masks for hospitals and other vulnerable areas are also needed.” In addition, the federal government must tackle the issue of a shortage of skilled workers in nursing, in the health authorities and among doctors in rural areas.
Source: Stern
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