Lauterbach is “worse than people feel” for the 4th vaccination from 60: Pandemic situation in Europe
Created: 04/01/2022, 20:12
By: Magdalena von Zumbusch
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach is committed to the 4th corona vaccination.
The German Society for Immunology sees this critically.
© Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa
Due to the currently extremely high number of cases, Lauterbach is calling for the fourth vaccination for everyone over 60. Experts consider this to be “currently not indicated”.
Berlin – Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) is committed to a fourth corona vaccination for people over 60 and refers to studies from Israel.
The German Society for Immunology has a different view.
According to Lauterbach, studies from Israel show the effectiveness of the fourth corona vaccination
According to the Tagesschau
, Karl Lauterbach spoke out in favor of a fourth corona vaccination from the age of 60
at a meeting of the EU federal health ministers in Brussels .
He refers to studies from Israel that have shown that the risk of dying from corona can be reduced by up to 80 percent from the age of 60 with a fourth vaccination.
Video: Lauterbach comments on the fourth corona vaccination
Lauterbach calls for a uniform EU-wide strategy for the fourth corona vaccination
Lauterbach believes that dealing with a possible fourth corona vaccination should be handled uniformly across the EU.
The EU Commission wants to draw up a recommendation for the fourth vaccination, said the minister after a meeting with his EU colleagues.
The health ministers of the other EU countries had largely supported his proposal to align vaccination strategies across the EU.
The specifications of the EU Commission would then "also be an important compass for Germany for dealing with the second booster", Lauterbach said according to the
Tagesschau
.
The Ukraine war is distracting many people from the current corona pandemic high
Lauterbach points to the currently very critical pandemic situation in Germany.
"We have a very high number of cases, unfortunately we also have a very high number of deaths," said Lauterbach at the meeting in Brussels, according to the
Tagesschau
.
"The situation in Europe in terms of the pandemic is worse than people feel," he added.
This is probably due not least to the war in Ukraine, which has shifted public attention.
Corona: Immunologists only see a fourth vaccination as appropriate in exceptional cases
However, immunologists do not support the fourth corona vaccination for people over 60 years of age.
"A general lowering of the age threshold for the vaccination recommendation is currently not indicated," said the Vice President of the German Society for Immunology (DGfI), Reinhold Förster from the Hannover Medical School, the German Press Agency.
A second booster from the age of 60 can only be understandable in exceptional cases, for example in people with a suppressed immune system.
The Standing Vaccination Committee (Stiko) currently only recommends the fourth dose for people aged 70 and over and for people with risk factors such as immune defects.
Fourth corona vaccination less effective than according to Lauterbach, according to the German Society for Immunology
The researchers at the German Society for Immunology interpret the Israeli data differently than the minister: They showed minimal differences between the compared two groups of three and four times vaccinated, according to Förster from the German Society for Immunology.
"Both groups have a very low risk of death from Covid-19 at Omikron." The information on reduced mortality was therefore based on relatively small absolute numbers.
An example: According to Preprint, five of the approximately 112,000 quadruple vaccinated and 32 of the approximately 124,000 triple vaccinated 60- to 69-year-olds died in connection with Covid-19 in the observed period.
(Magdalena von Zumbusch with dpa)
