Pandemic: Lauterbach: We have to prepare for the Corona autumn

Pandemic: Lauterbach: We have to prepare for the Corona autumn

Corona doesn’t like summer, at least that’s how it was last summer. But the trend in infections is pointing upwards. The health minister now wants to push ahead with the preparations for the fall.

According to Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD), Germany is in a difficult transition phase of the corona pandemic.

There is currently a summer wave, which experts had expected, said Lauterbach on Thursday at the 17th National Health Industry Conference in Rostock. It must now be considered how the preparations for the coming months could go. “We can’t afford another fall where we’re as prepared as we were last fall.”

Vaccination concepts are currently being worked on, said Lauterbach. There is a close exchange with the manufacturers about new vaccines. “We expect these vaccinations at the end of August, probably in mid-September,” announced the minister. At the same time, there are very convincing drugs that are used far too little.

Lauterbach said that functioning test concepts are also needed that can not only be used to determine the incidence, but also to break chains of infection. At the same time, data exchange must be much faster than before. It cannot be the case that hospital data, for example on bed occupancy or staff supply, would be announced with a long delay. In September, or October at the latest, a system will be available in which such information would be communicated digitally on a daily basis.

Discussion about vaccination centers

The German General Practitioners Association considers it unnecessary to keep the corona vaccination centers open in the summer. “The vaccination centers are empty across Germany,” said association president Ulrich Weigeldt to the newspapers of the editorial network Germany. “Why they should now continue to be operated throughout the summer is not at all clear.” That costs a lot of money that is urgently needed elsewhere. “The general practitioners have proven that the vaccinations are best kept in the practices.”

The Green health politician Janosch Dahmen advised checking the recommendations for booster vaccinations. “Against the background of new scientific data, I think it is urgent that we in Germany review the recommendations for the second booster vaccination and, if necessary, extend them in good time,” said Dahmen of the “Rheinische Post”.

The patient representative of the federal government, Stefan Schwartze, thinks it makes sense to maintain the regional corona vaccination centers over the summer, even with the current low rush. There is a sharp increase in the number of infections, said the SPD politician on Thursday in Berlin. Therefore, he is careful not to be able to do without anything.

Better advice required

In the Corona crisis, experts believe that clearer and more uniform information is important in order to avoid uncertainty among many people. The pandemic has shown how important it is to have advice that is tailored to the target group and understandable even for laypeople, said the federal government’s patient representative, Stefan Schwartze, on Thursday at the presentation of the annual report of the Independent Patient Advice Service Germany (UPD) in Berlin. This affects the disease, vaccinations but also the often changing corona regulations.

Source: Stern

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