In a “national show of strength” and with the help of a “vaccination week”, the vaccination rate should be increased to over 80 percent in order, as the example of Denmark shows, to be able to largely dispense with restrictions. The time, duration and specific measures of the action were not mentioned.
“The picture of last winter is repeated,” said Rendi-Wagner, “because we did not manage to achieve an 80 percent vaccination coverage in summer and autumn”. From their point of view, it is therefore necessary, together with “colleagues”, to appeal to the population to be vaccinated. “Otherwise Corona will continue to exist with all of its terrible consequences.” The government’s vaccination campaign to date has reached its limits, but studies have shown that it would be quite possible to reach 15 to 17 percent of “hesitant” people if interested parties were better informed and low-threshold vaccination options were offered, said the doctor. “But resignation cannot be an option”.
Address younger and middle age cohorts
Virologist Heidemarie Holzmann, who identified these groups as having below-average vaccinations in a study by the University of Vienna, also urged that younger and middle age cohorts, educationally disadvantaged groups and people who do not follow the classic media should be addressed directly. It is also important to fight myths: for example, there is still no evidence that vaccination could make you sterile. The expert welcomed the informative letters from the social security funds, which are planned for December – but it should also be advertised with testimonials and, for the younger generation, increasingly on social media.
In this regard, the infectiologist Christoph Wenisch insisted on bringing the Austrian tennis star Dominic Thiem into play and inviting him to get an idea of how infected people are doing in the hospital. “A lot of the staff got sick, 30 percent of the employees were infected, I personally lost friends and acquaintances to Long Covid,” said Wenisch, who witnessed the dramatic situation in Vienna’s Favoriten Clinic up close every day. Sometimes so many people would have to be artificially ventilated that the oxygen pressure in the house had to be constantly checked, Wenisch described.
Israel as an example
The President of the Medical Association, Thomas Szekeresz, named Israel as role models. In the summer the numbers exploded there, then the vaccination rate was increased or the vaccinations were refreshed. “So we see in black and white that a rate of over 80 percent vaccination coverage makes measures and restrictions unnecessary,” said the doctor. He again urged all unvaccinated people to contact a trusted doctor if they had any questions or uncertainties. He thinks a lot of target group-oriented education and the distribution of fact sheets on the subject of Corona. An additional monetary reward in addition to the free vaccination is not the right way to go.
“The vaccination works, we have been vaccinating billions of doses worldwide since January and we have good data on safety and effectiveness,” said the head of the National Vaccination Committee (NIG), Ursula Wiedermann-Schmidt. She referred to a recent Scottish study that showed that those who were vaccinated are 60 times less likely to die from corona infection than those who were not vaccinated. “It is not only important to read studies, but also to trust them,” warned the expert.
