At the beginning the corona vaccine was scarce, now there is more than enough.
But the pace of vaccination is flagging.
Politicians want to counteract this with appeals and “low-threshold” offers.
Berlin - Queuing at the Corona vaccination center, being grateful for the appointment and conscientiously filling out all the forms beforehand - that will soon be a thing of the past.
The federal states are now relying on new concepts to get people to be vaccinated.
Because the daily vaccination rate is falling and experts say that far too few people still have vaccination protection to get the pandemic under control.
According to the Robert Koch Institute, at least 85 percent of 12- to 59-year-olds and 90 percent of seniors aged 60 and over should be fully vaccinated because of the more contagious delta variant of the coronavirus.
According to the RKI report, it was 43 percent of the total population on Tuesday.
SHOPPING, EATING, VACCINATING
Now, for example, Berlin is breaking new ground and will be offering a drive-in vaccination from the weekend: everyone should be able to get vaccinated spontaneously without an appointment in an Ikea parking lot in the Lichtenberg district.
In addition to a lane for motorists, a “walk-in” lane for pedestrians is also planned.
Bavaria also relies on drive-ins.
The vaccination centers should be able to offer such counters in the future, announced Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) on Tuesday.
It is also planned to “vaccinate to go” without a lot of paperwork: vaccination stands in swimming pools, at fast food chains, associations or “at or in taverns”.
Vaccination centers should also be able to offer “family Sundays” for parents and children from the age of twelve, “maybe with a little ice cream afterwards for the younger ones,” said Söder.
NO VOCATIONAL OBLIGATION IN GERMANY
In France, vaccination registrations have been skyrocketing since the government announced that healthcare workers would need to be vaccinated or otherwise not be paid.
The rules for access to cinemas and theaters (vaccination or test) are also being tightened in the neighboring country, which could give vaccinations a new boost.
In Greece, only those who have been vaccinated should be allowed in clubs and restaurants, and there, too, there is compulsory vaccination for employees in health care and care.
In Germany, Baden-Württemberg's Health Minister Manne Lucha (Greens) was open to such a step.
"A job-specific vaccination requirement can be discussed," he said on Tuesday in Stuttgart.
The vaccination rate of assistants and semi-skilled workers in inpatient care facilities is currently relatively low.
The human geneticist Wolfram Henn from the German Ethics Council had also brought into play a compulsory vaccination for employees in schools and daycare centers and argued with their "special job-related responsibility", since children are not yet vaccinated and could carry infections into their families.
From the point of view of the German Teachers' Association, that would be unnecessary.
The willingness of teachers to vaccinate is very high, said association president Heinz-Peter Meidinger of the "Augsburger Allgemeine".
ADVERTISING INSTEAD OF OBLIGATION - NOT COMPARABLE TO MASERS
The debate remains for the time being. A vaccination is not planned in Germany, as Chancellor Angela Merkel confirmed on Tuesday. You and Health Minister Spahn rely on "advertising" and "persuasion". "The more we are vaccinated, the freer we will be again, the freer we can live again," said Merkel and also appealed to families, friends or clubs to encourage people to be vaccinated.
The chairwoman of the German Ethics Council, Alena Buyx, also speaks out against compulsory corona vaccination. In their opinion, the issue is not comparable to compulsory measles vaccination. This came into force in 2020 and stipulates that children have to show a vaccination to go to daycare or school. Employees in the facilities must also be vaccinated. Buyx told “Welt” that the vaccination rate that you need for measles for so-called herd immunity is significantly higher because it is much more contagious. In addition, the measles vaccination requirement was preceded by a very long public debate.
However, it cannot be ruled out that at some point there will be an often discussed “indirect corona vaccination obligation”.
The free citizen tests, which allow access to events or other offers like a vaccination certificate, could become chargeable for those who have not been vaccinated in the long term.
Testing costs the state enormous sums of money, said Söder.
If everyone had received a vaccination offer, one would have to think about whether the tests could remain completely free of charge.
The federal government is not ruling this out either.
Chancellor Merkel restricted that measures "that are such an indirect compulsory vaccination" must be carefully considered because, for example, children cannot yet be vaccinated and because for some people there are reasons not to be vaccinated.
dpa