In Europe, countries like Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands also face “record rates” of Covid-19 infection, but Germany is the focus of attention.
High above Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and Süddeutsche Zeitung, among other Germans, are called “Above all, boost the pace of booster”, “Is the vaccine’s effect fading” and “Vaccine still working well enough? immunological still enough to overcome this fourth wave?” (below).
The alarm reached the American press, where questioning the vaccine, especially the one most used in the US and Europe, had become taboo.
The Wall Street Journal report on the restrictions recently retaken by Germany and others highlighted the “increase in infections among vaccinated people”. Bars and restaurants are being closed in Saxony, which could extend to other regions.
“Germany has a complete vaccination rate of 70%, and more than 45% of patients hospitalized with infection have been fully vaccinated,” writes the Berlin correspondent, citing the Robert Koch Institute, the country’s center for disease prevention.
In recent weeks, some regional governments have even determined “restrictions to the unvaccinated, even confining them at home, but the measures have not managed to delay the increase in infections”.
According to the WSJ, “although data show that people who are vaccinated are considerably less likely to contract the disease, it is also becoming clear that this advantage is diminishing over time and the gradual reduction of the immune response triggered by the vaccine.”
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