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Corona vaccination in Altötting: Lauterbach fights for compulsory vaccination
Photo: Wolfgang Maria Weber / IMAGO
Vaccination against the corona virus is progressing even more slowly in Germany than recently.
On Friday, just around 156,000 vaccine doses were administered in Germany, according to data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) on Saturday.
For comparison: On Friday a week ago, including late registrations, almost 224,000 people (193,000 without late registrations) had been vaccinated.
The current number of days administered vaccinations is always provisional, since not all administered vaccination doses are reported immediately.
Large group still unvaccinated
In the meantime, 75.1 percent of the population (at least 62.5 million people) have received basic protection, which usually requires two injections.
56.2 percent (46.7 million) also received a booster vaccination.
76.2 percent (63.4 million) have been vaccinated at least once.
A high vaccination rate is considered crucial for a quick end to the pandemic.
However, a large group of 23.8 percent of the population (19.8 million people) remains unvaccinated, according to the Ministry of Health's vaccination dashboard.
However, no vaccine has been approved for 4.8 percent (four million) because they are four years old or younger.
For the others, politicians are currently arguing about a general obligation to vaccinate in order to be prepared for future waves around autumn.
Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach still hopes for a majority in the Bundestag after a tough debate.
"We are fighting for compulsory vaccination," said the SPD politician to the daily newspaper "taz".
It is still necessary.
The vaccination rate is now not being increased “by another vaccination campaign, but only by compulsory vaccination”.
He is working to ensure "that in the end there is a joint application and that many Union MPs take their state responsibility seriously," said Lauterbach.
"If restrictions are necessary again in the fall, everyone will remember who prevented compulsory vaccination for party political reasons."
Lauterbach has already made it clear that he supports a push by several members of the traffic light coalition for compulsory vaccination from the age of 18.
With a view to the draft of another group for mandatory advice and then a possible vaccination requirement only from the age of 50, he said: “This risks high numbers of cases among younger people.
With a variant like Delta, there would be severe courses in younger people, in diabetics, people with previous cancer, overweight and people with impaired kidney function.«
However, the RKI has also been pointing out for a long time that the numbers shown are to be understood as minimum vaccination rates - and the number of actual vaccinations may be higher.
A hundred percent coverage by the reporting system cannot be achieved.
The RKI assumes that the actual vaccination rate is up to five percentage points above the value given on the dashboard.
apr/dpa