Coronavirus in Germany: the vaccine will begin to apply …

The start of winter will coincide with the start of vaccination campaign against covid-19 in Germany. Angela Merkel’s government announced that in the first days of January will start applying the coronavirus vaccine to nursing home residents, the elderly and medical staff. Meanwhile, Bavaria, the country’s largest state, will launch more restrictive measures than those ordered by the central power, as cases continue to rise. The country has 1.1 million infections and 19,000 deaths.

the EU regulator plans to adopt decision on Dec. 29 on approving first vaccine use on the mainland, which for weeks has been facing a strong second wave of coronavirus cases that has imposed new restrictions. The UK, in the Brexit process, has already taken a tip by authorizing the Pfizer / BioNtech vaccine and announcing the start of the vaccination campaign for this week.

In making the announcement, Dr Helge Braun, Merkel’s chief of staff, said he would tell health officials that he himself was ready to help administer the vaccines. “I won’t be able to do it every hour of the day or night because I’m the chief of staff, but on weekends I’m ready to join,” he told the Bild newspaper, adding that the time of vaccination of members of the government differs from that of the rest of the population.

83 million Germans are waiting their turn

A panel of German medical experts has recommended to the government that the first to be vaccinated when a vaccine is approved are residents of nursing homes, people over 80 and medical staff with high-risk jobs. These people represent around 8.6 million, or more than 10% of the German population, according to the draft recommendations.

According to the 62-page document, it is only after these groups have been vaccinated and the number of vaccines remains limited, that the process should continue with other risk groups. The text, which has not yet been approved by the government, divides the population into six categories based on their risk of developing a severe form of covid-19 and the likelihood of infecting other people.

Teachers are in the fourth category, while in the fifth are people who hold key positions in government, critical infrastructure and small businesses. All the others healthy people under 60 – 45 of Germany’s 83 million – will be the last to be vaccinated.

The second wave in Germany

Coronavirus infections have partly stabilized in Germany, although at a fairly high level since the start of a partial lockdown decreed on November 2 after an agreement between Merkel and the governors of the country’s 16 states.

the The European country’s disease control body on Monday reported 12,332 new cases in the past 24 hours, compared to 11,168 last week. 147 more deaths from the virus were recorded on the last day. Germany already has more than 1.1 million infections and 19,000 deaths.

the The restrictions, which include the closure of restaurants, bars and entertainment venues, will be in effect until at least January 10., but some areas with many cases plan to add local measures. This is the case of Bavaria, Germany’s largest and richest and second most populous state, whose governor said today that national isolation was not enough to contain infections in this region of southern Germany.

Governor Markus Soeder said he would announce new restrictions in Bavaria in the coming days. “We are seeing a slight increase in infections and a sharp increase in the number of deaths,” Soeder said.