The corona numbers in Germany are falling - hope for a nice summer is growing.
Lauterbach is already looking to autumn.
The most important key figures of the corona pandemic are falling and give hope for a relaxed summer.
But experts warn: It could be too early for euphoria and rapid relaxation
(see initial report)
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Karl Lauterbach (SPD), meanwhile, considers "the great times of the pandemic" to be over
(see update from May 15, 8:07 pm).
This news ticker on the corona pandemic in Germany is continuously updated.
Update from May 15, 2021, 8:07 p.m
.: Germany is on the threshold of a possibly carefree summer. It is the SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach, of all people, who told t-online an important sentence: "I think the great days of the pandemic in Germany are over."
He did this, however, not without restrictions: on the one hand, people who were hesitant or not vaccinated at all, and on the other hand, virus mutants would ensure that the pandemic will stay with the country for a while - albeit "on the back burner".
One must now ensure that society is "healed" - this also includes the healing of social divisions, such as those between vaccination supporters and vaccination skeptics or opponents.
"We cannot say that the pandemic is over for us vaccinated people and not for others - we have to approach it with a sure instinct."
Corona in Germany: Lauterbach foresees a complicated autumn
“We will definitely have a complicated situation again in the autumn. There will be people whose immunity will be lost again, plus the changing weather and new mutations, ”said Lauterbach. He is particularly concerned if 20 to 30 percent of people have not been vaccinated by then.
The idea of achieving herd immunity through vaccinations and convalescents is "only a theoretical construct".
The USA, where vaccination progress is already far, has moved away from this goal.
First, because not enough people were vaccinated, and second, because possible mutants could affect immunity.
"It is not a new finding that we have to learn to live with the virus," said Lauterbach.
However, he continues to regard immunizing as many people as possible as the key to their own health and starting a weapon against the spread of new mutants.
Corona in Germany: Greens expert warns of the spread of the Indian mutant
First report from May 15, 2021, 6:04 p.m
.: Munich - The signs point to easing, hope for a carefree summer is increasing. And the numbers fit: the nationwide incidence drops to 87.3 on Saturday - a week ago it was 121.5. More than 30 million people have been vaccinated for the first time. But are there still reasons for pessimism? What will happen to the summer in Germany?
"It is far too early to give guarantees that we are all safe and that this pandemic is over," said Janosch Dahmen, health expert for the Greens parliamentary group in the Bundestag, to n-tv.
He worries that too few people are still vaccinated.
In addition, the Indian variant * could at some point also be predominant in Germany.
"That could well call into question previous successes in the pandemic," he said.
This means that opening steps may not be feasible as planned.
Indian mutant underestimated: What is known about variant B.1.617 so far
According to the RKI, the proportion of identified infections with variant B.1.617 - also known as the Indian variant - is around two percent.
However, studies in Great Britain showed that the proportion can double within a week.
What is known about the mutant so far:
The variants B.1617.1 and B.1617.2 have appeared in India since December 2020 and are grouped together to form B.1617.
It has been classified as "worrying" by the RKI and the WHO.
That is, it is observed whether it is more quickly transferable and more dangerous.
Together with the lifting of protective measures and poor medical care, it contributes to the situation in India, where several thousand people continue to die every day.
The variant has mutations at three structurally important points - whether these make the virus insensitive to vaccines has not yet been clarified - mainly because so far only contaminated substances have been tested outside of Europe.
A study from Göttingen (Hoffmann and Pöhlmann) and observations in English retirement homes suggest that vaccinated people can also become infected, but the course is milder.
The virologist Ulrike Protzer (TU Munich) summarized on Twitter: The vaccines should still protect well!
Openings, end of the mask requirement as in the USA - or will we still experience a Corona summer 2021?
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Schleswig-Holstein, Timmendorfer Strand: Can Germans look forward to a carefree summer without Corona measures?
(Archive image)
© Markus Scholz / dpa
In the past week, the United States lifted the mask requirement for most situations for those who were fully vaccinated.
Other countries, such as Israel or Great Britain, are easing further measures in gastronomy or tourism, or have already done so.
Could the spread of the Indian variant still jeopardize the positive scenario for Germany?
Green expert Dahmen sees the danger of a fourth wave before summer.
Only when it is clear that the variant does not block an immune response through the vaccination * can one think of easing - probably towards autumn: "If we have reached a vaccination rate of 60 to 80 percent in the population, then we will take overall protective measures - also reduce the AHA rules bit by bit and eventually lift them, ”said Dahmen.
Karl Lauterbach, SPD health expert, has been known for negative forecasts since the beginning of the corona pandemic. At the end of the week, however, he tweeted a much more optimistic forecast for the summer - especially with regard to the possible dangers of the Indian mutation: “We underestimated the Indian variant. Nevertheless, it will not jeopardize our success in the summer. ”
(Kat) * Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
