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A doctor's assistant sticks the proof of the third vaccination in a vaccination book in a family doctor's practice in Berlin
Photo: Wolfgang Kumm / dpa
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Study: Delta variant apparently does not lead to more severe corona cases in children
04.09 a.m.:
According to initial findings, the delta variant of the corona virus does not lead to more severe courses of Covid-19 in children. As a
study by the US health authority CDC
shows, the proportion of serious illnesses in children currently does not differ significantly from that in January, when the alpha variant of the coronavirus predominated in the USA. In addition, the data indicate a high effectiveness of vaccination protection in adolescents.
The rate of corona-related hospital admissions for children and adolescents up to the age of 17 had recently risen sharply again in the USA and was 1.4 per 100,000 in mid-August.
The researchers then compared around 3,100 hospital cases from January with 164 from the current delta wave and found hardly any differences in the strength of the courses.
Intensive care physician: Worry before autumn if the vaccination rate does not increase
04.01 a.m.:
The intensive care
physicians
warn in the event that the corona vaccination rate in Germany does not increase significantly, in front of many intensive care patients in October and November.
"We can already see how much the Delta variant is spreading in closed rooms,"
said the President of the German Society for Internal Intensive Care Medicine and Emergency Medicine, Christian Karagiannidis, of the "Augsburger Allgemeine". "If we don't raise the vaccination rate significantly by October, we will get a really strong increase in the number of corona cases in the intensive care units in autumn." The development can be calculated relatively precisely in advance if the vaccination rate hardly increases.
According to Karagiannidis, an increase in the vaccination rate by ten percentage points would also make an enormous difference in the occupancy of the intensive care units: “That is a very simple calculation: With a vaccination rate of 80 percent, there are twice as many people at risk as with a vaccination rate of 90 percent, because then there would be only ten percent unvaccinated instead of 20 percent.
With a vaccination rate of 70 percent, the number is three times as high. "
Infectiologist: Don't just let Corona run in schools
4:00 a.m.:
The Jena infectiologist Mathias Pletz has warned against prematurely lifting the corona measures completely in the school year that has just started. "After everything we know about Delta, you can't just let it go," said the director of the Institute for Infection Medicine and Hospital Hygiene at Jena University Hospital of the German Press Agency. It is not yet known for sure whether children are more seriously ill with the now prevalent Delta variant than with the one that has been circulating in Germany up to now. There are at least reports of increasing hospitalization rates among children and young adults.
In addition, the
vaccination rate is still too low to take the risk of a complete contamination and to
repeal all measures.
"Children can bring the virus home from school and infect their unvaccinated parents." In some models, there are already indications of the numbers to be expected for intensive care bed occupancy, "which are in the range of the third wave".
Pletz said he found it sensible to test and look at the infection process in the first few weeks after the vacation, when the students meet again for the first time after the vacation.
"Schools will certainly not be closed as easily as they did in 2020."
Cuba starts corona vaccination campaigns for children between the ages of two and 18
1:46 a.m.:
Cuba started a corona vaccination campaign for children between the ages of two and 18 on Friday. First of all, children from the age of twelve should receive the corona vaccines Abdala and Soberana, which were developed in Cuba, and
the younger children will have their turn from September 15
. The communist government of the Caribbean state sees the vaccination campaign as a prerequisite for the resumption of classroom teaching.
Because of the corona pandemic, Cuba's schools have been closed for most of the time since March 2020.
The children and young people were taught via television.
When the new school year in Cuba begins on Monday, all students should receive distance learning until all children and adolescents eligible for a corona vaccination have received the injection syringes.
The authorities plan to gradually reopen the schools from October.
The spread of the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus has pushed Cuba's health system to the limit.
Of the total of around 5,300 deaths from the pandemic in the island nation, almost half were registered in August alone.
Of the total of around 673,000 proven corona infections in Cuba, around 95,000 were among minors.
Seven children died as a result of the infection.
Laschet criticizes the compromise on the vaccination query as inadequate
01.01 a.m.:
Union
Chancellor
candidate Armin Laschet has criticized the compromise of the grand coalition for vaccination inquiries in companies as inadequate. "For reasons of operational safety, employers should be allowed to inquire about vaccinations in the workforce - provided, of course, that this information remains confidential," he told the newspapers of the Funke media group according to the preliminary report. "Unfortunately, that couldn't be done for all companies in the alliance with the SPD." At least it was achieved that employers were given the right to information in particularly sensitive areas, i.e. in daycare centers, schools, hospitals and care facilities. "In view of the current pandemic situation, this is absolutely necessary from the point of view of infection protection."
Laschet did not want to criticize companies that go one step further and make vaccination records a ticket to the office.
"I share the desire of companies and employees for the best possible health protection," he said.
"That is why companies and collective bargaining parties should find individual solutions that respect confidentiality and freedom of choice." However, the state should not make any requirements here.
Laschet says he wants to counteract the sluggish vaccination progress primarily with education.
USA want to prepare better for future pandemics
00.03 a.m.:
In view of the devastating consequences of the spread of the
corona virus
, the USA wants to better prepare for future pandemics. The US government presented plans on Friday to make the country more efficient for such health crises. This includes, among other things, increasing national stocks of protective equipment, establishing early warning systems to detect new dangerous viruses and systematically creating the basis for the rapid development and manufacture of vaccines and treatment preparations. Investments must also be made, for example, in public laboratories and the recruitment of health experts in municipalities, states and at the federal level.
The science advisor to US President Joe Biden, Eric Lander, said the plans are estimated to be worth a good 65 billion US dollars (around 55 billion euros) over a period of seven to ten years.
A government paper on the plans said, as shocking as the consequences of the coronavirus are - future pandemics could get significantly worse.
In the case of Corona, there was a lot of prior knowledge about related virus variants.
That could be different in a future crisis.
Spahn defends booster vaccinations for risk groups
00.01 a.m
.: Federal Health
Minister
Jens Spahn
defended
the booster vaccinations
for seniors and immunocompromised people
before a recommendation by the Standing Vaccination Commission (Stiko).
"I don't want to wait until people die again in the nursing homes," said the CDU politician to the editorial network in Germany.
»The fact that we have now started the booster vaccinations is a forward-looking, precautionary act.
This is how we protect human life. "
Several federal states have started offering people in need of care, over 80 year olds and people with immunodeficiency the third vaccination if the last one was at least six months ago, because after this period the effect can decrease significantly.
According to its boss Thomas Mertens, Stiko is planning a recommendation as soon as possible.
Spahn referred to studies "which clearly show that booster vaccinations make sense for very old people, those in need of care and people with certain immune diseases."
He emphasized: "We have enough vaccine to provide more protection with booster vaccinations."
Spahn described the vaccination quota as "still too low" to prevent the health system from becoming overburdened.
"We are currently seeing a pandemic of the unvaccinated." The number of infections among the unvaccinated are more than ten times higher than among the vaccinated, and 90 percent of Covid 19 patients in intensive care units are unvaccinated.
oka / AFP / dpa / Reuters