Corona-News: Possibility to take sick leave by phone ends

News about Corona from March 30, 2023

Opportunity to take sick leave by phone ends

Thursday, March 30, 5:33 am: The possibility of telephone sick leave for mild cold symptoms without visiting the practice is coming to an end. The special regulation introduced in the Corona crisis by the Federal Joint Committee of doctors, clinics and health insurance companies only applies until this Friday (March 31). Chairman Josef Hecken told the German Press Agency that sick leave by telephone had fulfilled its function during the pandemic – as an “easily implementable way of distinguishing between mild and severe cases of illness and avoiding full waiting rooms”.

In view of the current risk assessment by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), it is now being phased out. Hecken made it clear that you keep an eye on them and can activate them again very quickly if necessary.

Since the end of March 2020, it has been possible almost continuously to call in sick for mild respiratory problems. This should reduce unnecessary contacts and avoid corona infections. The Federal Joint Committee had extended the special regulation several times, most recently until March 31. The RKI downgraded the risk assessment for Germany from high to moderate in early February.

Hecken said that the special regulation had struck a balance between protection against corona infection and access to care. He thinks, for example, of the chronically ill who need regular care. “I’m very happy about that.” Self-critically, he had to say that the Federal Committee first had to find the right balance when dealing with telephone sick leave as part of the anti-corona tool kit. A temporary waiver of the regulation in view of the falling number of cases in spring 2020 was too optimistic and was quickly corrected.

“Regardless of the pandemic situation, insured persons can also receive sick leave during a video consultation – not just for mild respiratory diseases,” explained Hecken. “So that means that there is already the regular possibility that an insured person does not have to go to the doctor’s office for every illness.” A prerequisite, of course, is that the inability to work can be clarified without an immediate physical examination.

WHO does not recommend any further corona booster vaccinations for “medium” risk

March 28, 11:51 p.m.: The World Health Organization (WHO) does not recommend any further corona booster vaccinations for adults with “medium” risk. For this population group – if they have received their basic immunization and a booster dose – the benefit of another vaccination is low, the WHO vaccination experts explained on Tuesday.

The UN Health Organization’s Advisory Expert Group on Immunization (SAGE) issued updated recommendations after its regular bi-annual meeting. The population was classified into the risk groups “high”, “medium” and “low” according to the risk of becoming seriously ill with Covid or dying from it.

Accordingly, additional booster vaccinations are only recommended for people at “high risk” – such as the elderly, people with previous illnesses such as diabetes, people with immune deficiency diseases such as HIV, pregnant women and medical staff.

According to the WHO, healthy adults under the age of 60 and children and adolescents with a “medium risk” do not need a booster vaccination. However, booster vaccinations do not pose a risk for them either. Healthy children and adolescents fall into the group with the lowest risk.

LastCorona-Entry rules expire at Easter

Tuesday March 28, 2023 6:33 am: The already largely relaxed Corona rules for those returning from vacation when entering Germany will no longer apply at Easter. In view of the more relaxed pandemic situation, the corresponding regulation expires on April 7th, as the Federal Ministry of Health announced on request. Most recently, at the beginning of the year, due to a wave of infections in China, there was a temporary test requirement for travelers from there. To this end, the ordinance created a new category of areas in which, according to the federal government’s classification, “a worrying virus variant threatens to occur”.

Entry requirements that used to apply, with 3G proof of vaccinated, recovered or tested people, have long since disappeared. As a basic “emergency brake”, rules for areas in which new corona variants occur. According to the applicable regulation, those arriving from there must go into a 14-day quarantine in Germany, even if they are vaccinated or have recovered. Apart from the temporary admission of China, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) has not included a country classified as a “virus variant area” for months.

Other remaining Corona regulations also end on April 7th. The last nationwide requirements in the Infection Protection Act, which currently still regulate a mask requirement for visits to health care facilities, are expiring.

Bavaria is expanding the offer of help for people with corona vaccination damage

Monday, March 27, 04:08: Bavaria wants to expand its offers of help for people with vaccination damage after a corona vaccination and will soon offer a telephone hotline for those affected. Even if the vaccination rarely causes health problems, every citizen who has problems after a corona vaccination must be helped, said the Bavarian Minister of Health Klaus Holetschek (CSU) of the “Augsburger Allgemeine” (Monday).

Bavaria will therefore set up a hotline that does not offer individual medical help, but can provide clarification options. “Overall, persistent health problems caused by the Covid 19 vaccination are very rare,” said Holetschek. “So the benefits of vaccination far outweigh the risks.” Longer-term consequences of a corona infection are much more common than vaccination damage.

RKI:New Corona subline “Arcturus” also detected in Germany

Sunday, March 26, 9:17 a.m.:The Corona subline XBB.1.16, much discussed under the name “Arcturus”, has only rarely been documented in Germany. In the period from January 30th to March 12th, six pieces of evidence were transmitted, as the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) announced in its weekly Corona report. However, only a few samples are examined for variants in Germany.

Reports from India in particular have caused a stir in the past few days. “In India, a growing proportion of this subline has recently been seen, parallel to an increase in the Covid 19 incidence there,” wrote the RKI. In the past few weeks, XBB.1.16 has been detected in various countries.

According to the RKI, the subline is characterized by three additional mutations in the so-called spike protein. The RKI did not comment on a possible influence of these changes on the severity of the disease or infections. However, experts warn against panic, as there is still hardly any reliable data.

“Arcturus” is a subline of the omicron recombinants XBB.1, which are now dominant in Germany. Expected for Germany RKI in the coming weeks further increasing shares of XBB.1 sublines. For the subline XBB.1.5, which is currently prevalent in Germany, preliminary data do not indicate an increased severity of the disease.

Corona-Warnapp is scheduled to go into “sleep mode” in early June

4:43 p.m.: The federal corona warning app, which has been used millions of times, is to go into “sleep mode” at the beginning of June in view of the more relaxed pandemic situation. The warning function for other users of the app should still be able to be used until April 30th after a positive test, as the Federal Ministry of Health announced on Friday on request. In the month of May, the systems should then be prepared to put certain functions into “sleep mode” on June 1st. Regular updates of the app should be avoided. But you can keep them on your cell phone, for example to continue using electronic vaccination certificates.

If the situation changes again, the app can be “awakened” from sleep mode and adjusted in a timely manner, said a spokesman. According to the ministry, the application was installed more than 48 million times on end devices, and almost nine million people shared positive test results to warn other users. The current contracts with the service providers SAP and T-Systems end on May 31st.

Lauterbach open to commission of inquiry on Corona– Politics

Friday, March 24, 6:40 a.m.: Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach has shown himself open to an inquiry commission called for by the FDP and the Union to review the corona policy. “I really agree with every decision. And if there were such a commission, we would also take part,” said Lauterbach in the podcast of the news portal “The Pioneer” (Friday). As a minister, however, it is not up to him to decide on the establishment of such a commission. He therefore wanted to wait and see how the Bundestag decides, he said accordingly.

The SPD politician also admitted “that in retrospect one or the other path that was taken at the time would be taken differently”. However, the accusation that the state deliberately misinformed citizens or withheld information from them is “a robber’s gun from the camp of lateral thinkers”.

In order to set up a commission of inquiry, a quarter of the deputies must agree. They are made up of representatives and experts from science and practice.

Corona-Vaccinations should remain free of charge on a broader front

Wednesday, March 22, 12:04 p.m.: The corona vaccinations in Germany are to be transferred to regular health care at Easter. From April 8th, vaccinations should be possible free of charge on a broader front, according to a draft regulation by the Federal Ministry of Health. In the future, the framework for the right to vaccinations should be a technical guideline based on the recommendations of the Standing Vaccination Commission (Stiko). However, vaccinations should also be possible at health insurance costs if it “is considered medically necessary by a doctor”. The previous rules on vaccination entitlements for everyone expire on April 7th.

According to the draft, it should be ensured that there is a high level of immunity in the population beyond the vaccinations provided for in the directive. A “continuous, more comprehensive range of vaccinations based on medical indications and individual risk-benefit assessment” could, with the prevailing Omikron variant, help to avoid overburdening the healthcare system in the coming autumn and winter. “This is especially true as immunity decreases after vaccination or infection.”

According to the stipulations in the vaccination directive alone, vaccination claims would depend on whether you have previous illnesses, belong to certain age and professional groups – or whether health insurance companies allow it, it is said to justify the planned more extensive regulation.

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