German Chancellor Angela Merkel during the press conference after meeting with regional leaders on April 26. Michael Kappeler / Reuters
Germany is going to relax the strict rules that limit contacts in the country for people already vaccinated. This was decided this Monday by the Chancellor, Angela Merkel, and the leaders of the 16 federal states, who have also agreed to suspend the prioritization of vaccination in June. Germany, which has so far inoculated at least one dose to 23.4% of its population, continues to keep the promise that, by the end of the summer, all citizens will have been invited to get vaccinated. From June there will no longer be priority, that is, age, profession or previous illnesses will be irrelevant when it comes to getting an appointment, Merkel said at a press conference after the meeting.
The Chancellor considers that people who have been vaccinated with the full schedule should be considered exceptions to the general rule that requires, for example, to show a negative rapid test before going to the hairdresser or entering a store. Those already immunized will also be able to avoid mandatory quarantine when they enter the country after traveling abroad. This special treatment for the vaccinated must be included in a regulation. The chancellor alluded to a recent study by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) according to which people who have received two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca and Moderna have a lower risk of infection two weeks after the last puncture.
The work of the RKI is in line with what the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC) announced last week, which in an evaluation on de-escalation gives free access to States to exempt from test or quarantine those already vaccinated. "The risk of developing severe disease due to covid-19 for a fully vaccinated person is very low in young people and middle-aged people without a risk factor for coronavirus, and low in older people or people at risk," says the report of the European body , published last day 21. The ECDC affirms for example that between vaccinated the norms of distance and the use of masks “can relax”. In addition,considers that it is possible to stop requiring quarantine from travelers (in Germany it is 10 days) and that it would not be necessary to carry out periodic tests in companies to employees who already have two doses.
For now, the German government wants those immunized to continue to comply with basic protection measures, such as the use of a mask or a safety distance. In Germany it is not mandatory to wear the mask on the street and it has not been at any time; It is only required in transport and inside any public place such as shops or offices. Some cities do require that it be used in busy commercial areas. In Munich, for example, it is demanded throughout the historic center. In Berlin only on certain streets.
To questions from journalists, Merkel did not want to anticipate whether the Germans could go on vacation freely in the summer: "Despite all the hopes we have, for now there are still many problems," she replied. The seven-day cumulative incidence in the country is 169 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, and it has been rising slowly since March. In Spain it is 115. The country's intensive care units are very stressed, with more than 5,000 people admitted.
The president of the German Medical Association, Klaus Reinhardt, was in favor of facilitating vaccination of the very young now that most of the population over 60 is already immunized. "It is sensible from an epidemiological point of view," he said Monday on the Phoenix network. Reinhardt also advocates giving more freedom to those vaccinated. Bars and restaurants have been closed in Germany since November. In mid-December, non-essential shops also closed, opening again in March but with strict rules: prior appointment, FFP2 mask and, since the beginning of April, the presentation of a negative rapid test less than 24 hours old.
The Länder have been pressing for the prioritization of vaccines to be relaxed as soon as possible, and in fact some, such as Berlin, have already relaxed the agreed order and allow doctors to put AstraZeneca doses to any age group from the week pass. In recent weeks political leaders such as Bavarian President Markus Söder had criticized that the bureaucracy was delaying the success of the vaccination. The federal government wanted them to do it all at the same time and they have finally agreed to do so in June.