The World Health Organization sees a possible end to the pandemic. A change of strategy with an emphasis on vulnerable groups is proposed by experts in Germany.
On Wednesday night the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Andanom Ghebregezus he said in Geneva that “the world has never been in a better position to end the coronavirus pandemic”. Last week saw the lowest number of deaths worldwide from the coronavirus since March 2020.
However, the head of the WHO, in the press conference he gave, pointed out that “we have not yet reached our goal”, national governments should not relax health measures and now “we have to work even harder to overcome this imaginary line and enjoy the fruits of our labor”. The WHO also warns that in many countries infection levels are rising, but not visible, as protective measures have been relaxed. The head of the organization underlined that “if we do not take advantage of this opportunity now, we risk more variation, more deaths, more disruption and more uncertainty.”
New strategy for winter
A group of German scientists proposes a new strategy for the winter, which will place greater emphasis on protection of vulnerable groups, as well as in safeguarding the critical infrastructures in the health system. “Vaccinations, as well as cases of the coronavirus, have caused widespread immunity in the population,” say the scientists in a document published by the German Society for Hygiene and Safety in Hospitals. Among other things, the experts suggest abolishing compulsory vaccination in health professions, pointing out that there is no need for measures that “do not respect the principle of proportionality”, while they reject continuous tests and the compulsory use of masks in schools, unless there is a special reason.
“No more closed schools due to the coronavirus”, says the German Minister of Education Bettina Stark-Wadzinger in a radio interview. He characteristically pointed out that schools cannot remain closed, as the consequences, both for children and their families, are enormous. She emphasized in her interview how important life teaching is.
The well-known epidemiologist Hendrik Streck said in an interview with BILD: “I will not be vaccinated again for the fourth time in the fall, because I have already been vaccinated three times and got sick once in the summer.” As he states, the disease is an additional aid against the corona virus. With his recommendation to the Vaccination Committee, Streek states that the three vaccination doses provide excellent protection for healthy people under 60 years of age. For its part, the Association of Family Doctors stated that the demand for the booster dose against the Omicron mutation of the coronavirus remains at low levels, although it is particularly recommended for people over 60 and vulnerable groups. Much debate has also opened about which booster vaccine to recommend to the public for Omicron’s BA.5 sub-variant, which has almost prevailed since July over the other sub-variants.
Is the number of cases fictitious?
In Germany the epidemiological institute Robert Koch notes, however, that the “deteriorating trend” of the last few weeks in the basic figures of the pandemic has ended. As the Institute announced on Thursday evening, the number of cases has stabilized around 50,000 per day and is not expected to decrease further. However, the Institute’s experts report that the current information is de facto incomplete, since now only PCR tests are recorded as “positive”, which not everyone who gets infected does, while any delays also differentiate the final number of sick people.
According to the experts, the actual number of patients is significantly higher, as also strains of the virus are often not detected. At the moment the country seems to be following two speeds, with the Association of Family Doctors calling for more emphasis on other diseases such as the flu, while on the other hand the German government, specifically the Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach, has announced new protection measures against the coronavirus, which will be effective from October 1. Emphasis has been placed on the use of a mask, which in fact has never completely disappeared from the lives of German citizens.
DW – Iosifina Tsagalidou
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