(Fighting against New Coronary Pneumonia) Germany’s new record in a single day and the official plan to recommend the fourth vaccine for high-risk groups
China News Agency, Berlin, February 3 (Reporter Peng Dawei) The number of new confirmed cases of new coronavirus infection in a single day announced by the German CDC on the 3rd hit a new high again, reaching 236,000. The German Standing Committee on Vaccines (STIKO), which is responsible for providing authoritative advice on various vaccinations in the country, said on the same day that it is considering recommending a fourth dose of the new crown vaccine for high-risk groups. The committee also said it supports the country’s vaccination of people over 18 with the inactivated Novavax vaccine.
The German disease control agency Robert Koch Institute announced on the 3rd that the number of new diagnoses and the number of new deaths were 236,120 and 164, respectively. The day before, Germany had just set a new high since the outbreak with 208,498 new diagnoses. As of the 3rd, Germany had a total of 10,422,764 confirmed cases and 118,334 deaths. The country’s official “7-day cumulative number of newly confirmed cases per 100,000 people” (the incidence rate index), which is officially used to monitor the severity of the epidemic, rose to 1,283.2 on the same day, a new high since the outbreak of the epidemic since the beginning of January. The number of patients requiring intensive care in the ICU decreased by 45 from the previous day to a total of 2,262. As of that day, a total of 165.8 million doses of the new crown vaccine have been vaccinated in Germany, and a total of 61.7 million people have been fully vaccinated, accounting for 74.2% of the country’s total population; 44.6 million people have received booster shots, accounting for 53.6% of the total population.
The German Standing Committee on Vaccines said in a draft resolution on the same day that it would consider recommending a fourth dose of the vaccine (ie, the second booster dose) for high-risk groups and health care workers, including the elderly over 70 years old, nursing home residents and workers. People, people over 5 years old with immune system deficiency. These people will have the opportunity to receive the second booster dose three months after the first booster dose.
Thomas Mertens, chairman of the German Vaccine Standing Committee, told German media on the same day that Israeli data show that the fourth dose of the vaccine can improve the body’s ability to avoid being infected by the new coronavirus to a certain extent, and significantly improve the effect of preventing severe illness.
The draft also shows that the committee intends to support the country’s population aged 18 and over to receive Novavax’s new crown vaccine, which uses inactivated technology. The vaccine, developed by the US company Novavax, has been approved for use in the UK and has been placed on the WHO’s emergency use list. The draft does not recommend the vaccine for pregnant and breastfeeding women.
A German TV report pointed out that the above-mentioned draft resolution is still in the negotiation stage between the country’s medical community and the state governments, and there is the possibility of further revisions. (Finish)
[Responsible editor: historical words]