Lauterbach warns of a massive fifth corona wave
Created: 12/17/2021Updated: 12/17/2021, 4:26 PM
"We have to prepare for a challenge here that we have not yet had in this form": Karl Lauterbach.
© Moritz Frankenberg / dpa
The fourth corona wave is still rolling through the country - the next is already looming.
The government wants to prevent the worst with boosters on a large scale.
It remains to be seen whether this will succeed quickly enough.
Berlin / Hanover - According to Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD), Germany is facing a massive fifth corona wave with the new Omikron variant.
The Omikron wave could be delayed but not prevented, Lauterbach said on Friday in Hanover.
The results of the consultations of the Federal Government's Expert Council on Omikron were eagerly awaited. Lauterbach announced possible further political decisions based on this expert advice. The countries Great Britain and Denmark, which have already been particularly affected by Omikron, had recorded record numbers of new infections in the past few days.
“I'm assuming a massive fifth wave,” said Lauterbach.
“We have to assume that the wave of omicons we are facing, which in my opinion we cannot prevent, will be a massive challenge for our hospitals, for our intensive care units, but also for society as a whole." Challenge has not yet been seen in the pandemic.
What is currently being observed in the UK exceeds anything that has been observed in the pandemic so far.
Lauterbach relies on a booster campaign
"The only thing that reliably protects against a severe course of the Omicron infection is the booster vaccination," says Lauterbach. The day before it became known that early deliveries of 35 million doses of the Moderna preparation are in sight. “So we could pull off such a booster campaign,” said Lauterbach. He called on the medical profession and vaccination centers to give preference to vaccinating with Moderna. But until more and more people have the third vaccination, attempts must be made to slow down the spread of Omikron. "Every deceleration of the wave, which we can use to boost a larger proportion of the population during this time and of course to provide it with a first and second vaccination, is important."
Even with a somewhat milder course of the infection process, the number of deaths could only be kept lower for two to three weeks, according to Lauterbach.
"Therefore, I believe we are at a key point in the pandemic." The omicron wave could not be pushed back with conventional means.
"We have to pull out other stops to combat this."
Initially, it remained unclear whether politicians would decide further corona restrictions in the coming days.
The government's expert council should deliberate this Friday.
Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said that Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) did not consider another conference of prime ministers to be mandatory for the time being.
If the countries wanted such advice, it would have to be discussed.
Lower Saxony's Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD) said the fifth wave will hit a society that is already facing a very high viral load.
“We're just noticing that in the hospitals.” Because: “If we're not careful (...) then the Omikron variant is faster than we can be when vaccinating.
Therefore, it must now also be a matter of restricting contacts. "According to Federal Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP), renewed school closings can only be the last resort in possible corona countermeasures, as she said on the TV channel Welt.
Lauterbach: "We protect each other"
With a view to Christmas, Lauterbach appealed to all citizens when traveling according to the principle: “We protect each other.” Everyone should be tested beforehand or at least test themselves - preferably several times.
The Berlin virologist Christian Drosten pointed out that Germany had the problem with Great Britain that many over-60-year-olds were not vaccinated.
According to the latest weekly report from the Robert Koch Institute, 24 percent of 18 to 59-year-olds and 12 percent of those over 60 are unvaccinated.
Drosten emphasized on Twitter that, because of its vaccine picking, Germany was not yet ready for the endemic situation, i.e. for the stage expected in science at which the virus was constantly circulating in the population.
more on the subject
What's going on in Germany's corona hotspots?
Unvaccinated people face more restrictions in full clinics
RKI: "Five past twelve" for Corona
Corona vaccinations exceeded the one million mark on Thursday at 1.24 million for the third day in a row.
At least 24.1 million people or 29 percent of all residents have now received a booster injection.
As the RKI found in its weekly report, the number of new infections is not falling enough with a view to intensive care units and the Omikron wave.
The number of new infections reported between December 6 and 12 fell by 13 percent compared to the previous week.
The stress on clinics and intensive care units remains high.
According to Lauterbach, there are currently fewer than 1,000 Omikron cases in Germany.
On Friday, the nationwide seven-day incidence fell to 331.8 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants.
There were 50,968 new infections and 437 deaths in one day.
According to the World Health Organization, omicron is spreading at a rate that has not been seen in any previous variant.
A double vaccination is considered insufficient.
The politicians responsible were dissatisfied with a ruling by the Lower Saxony Higher Administrative Court, which overturned the 2G rule in the state's retail trade.
That made no epidemiological sense, said Lauterbach.
The state government wants to present a new regulation for trade next week.
The Greens health expert Janosch Dahmen brought a corona vaccination requirement to the police and teachers in conversation.
"What has already been decided for the health staff, can in principle also be correct for civil servants who are responsible for other people," he told the "Rheinische Post" (Friday).
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