Corona: draft resolution on plans for boosted people leaked - virologists disagree with Lauterbach

Created: 12/14/2021, 13:59

From: Bedrettin Bölükbasi

For everyone who already has a corona booster vaccination, the obligation to test should be dropped.

Health Minister Lauterbach's plan is rejected by virologists.

Munich - The current Corona numbers in Germany give hope.

The number of infections with the deadly virus is falling.

Although this is good news in the fight against the fourth wave and indicates a flattening of the infection rate, caution is still required - especially because of the new omicron mutation.

According to experts, the booster vaccination appears to be an effective means of further combating the corona pandemic.

Now politicians want to implement the first easing for those who have been boosted.

Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) has spoken out in favor of boosted people being exempted from the obligation to test under the 2Gplus regulation in the future.

In the health ministers' conference (December 14th), the health ministers of the federal states will discuss the proposal.

Virologists are already voicing their concerns and warning about the plan.

Corona pandemic: GMK draft law seeps through - compulsory testing for boosted people is no longer applicable

Compared to the

ARD said Lauterbach that sending vaccinated people with booster vaccinations for testing would not make medical sense. In addition, an end to the obligation to test could be an incentive to get boosted. The FDP health expert Christine Aschenberg-Dugnus made a similar statement. She told the German Press Agency: “Of course, you don't have 100% protection even with a third vaccination. But even if there is a breakthrough in the vaccination, you are well protected from a severe course. ”In some countries, the regulation already applies. Baden-Württemberg, Lower Saxony, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland and, most recently, Thuringia no longer require boosters to test for access to 2Gplus areas. There are also new rules in Bavaria.

Health ministers of the federal states are now discussing, together with Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, a nationwide introduction of relaxation for boosted people. A draft for this has already been leaked. In fact, this provides that for corona vaccinated people with a booster vaccination, the obligation to test 2Gplus rules should no longer apply, as the

reported. "Scientific evidence suggests that the booster vaccination reduces both the risk of infection and the risk of further transmission," says the draft.

If the decision is accepted after a vote by the responsible state ministers or senators, the following would apply: "The federal government and the states agree that people who have received a booster vaccination are to be exempted from the obligation to test within the framework of the 2G-Plus regulation." However, the obligation to test should not be completely deleted, but rather be retained for certain areas. The draft suggests that in "medical and nursing facilities" to protect particularly vulnerable groups of people, a negative test result should also be required from boosted persons. According to the draft, the federal and state governments also want to “continuously evaluate the change in the regulation and, if necessary, adjust it according to the situation dynamics”.

Boosted exempt from testing? Virologist is concerned about plans - "premature step"

But experts are concerned about the planned easing for boosters. According to virologists, it is far too early for this due to the omicron spread, because much remains unknown. To what extent a double vaccination or even a booster vaccination is effective against the new mutation is not yet clear. Initial laboratory tests showed that antibodies from vaccinated persons respond comparatively poorly to the strongly mutated Omicron variant. This worsened protection can probably be compensated at least in part by a booster vaccination. It increases the level of antibodies in the blood. Breakthroughs in vaccination due to Omikron have also been documented in people who have already been boosted. There is still no reliable data on the extent to which boosted people infect other people when they are infected with Omikron.

The chairman of the board of the Federal Association of Doctors in the Public Health Service (BVÖGD), Ute Teichert, warned against easing the situation for those receiving a boost.

Such a step is premature, she told the newspapers of the Funke media group.

"It would be wiser to wait and see how the pandemic develops in the coming weeks," emphasized Teichert.

"As long as we do not have enough data to be able to say for sure, we should not take any hasty steps," added the CEO.

Corona rules may be relaxed for those who have been boosted - Frankfurt virologist with a clear warning

The Frankfurt virologist Martin Stürmer also warned against easing for people with booster vaccinations. Even if there is good protection against the virus transmission immediately after the booster vaccination, even with the new Corona variant Omikron, the data situation is still too uncertain, said Stürmer to the news portal

. "Therefore, at this point in time, I would advocate arguing more preventively - reducing the number of contacts accordingly, not easing the situation for boosters and using the test capacities to find out as much as possible," emphasized the virologist.

In Germany, too, it can be assumed that the Omikron variant will soon increase noticeably, said Stürmer.

“We see that it has spread very widely in South Africa and that it is spreading a lot in England.

The question arises why one shouldn't assume that something similar is happening in Germany and simply take precautions to delay the whole thing significantly, ”he added.

In this context, he would like to see “politics sometimes give more attention to science and, accordingly, more support”.