Single vaccine shot enough for those with undetected infection, says German health minister
German Health Minister Jens Spahn has said that an update to the vaccine rules will allow people to only have one vaccine shot if a test shows that they already have antibodies against Covid-19.
"Many people were infected without realizing it," Spahn told the mass market daily Bild on Saturday.
He added that "with a high-quality antibody test, the infection can now be reliably detected."
It is currently the case that people who have tested positive for a Covid infection with a PCR test are recommended to receive only one dose of a vaccine six months after infection in the case of symptoms.
Those who don't have symptoms can receive the dose four weeks after testing positive.
The single dose plus the positive PCR test suffice in order to be considered fully vaccinated. With many states in the country introducing so-called 2G rules, this allows such people to keep entering restaurants and venues.
Spahn said that people who take an anti-body test in order to find out whether they have had an asymptomatic infection would have to pay for it themselves. Such a test costs around €25.
The update to the rules does not require the government to agree upon a change to the law, the health ministry said.
The new rule will be made official shortly on the homepage of the Paul Ehrlich Institute, the German medical regulatory body.
SEE ALSO: Majority of Germans ‘favour tough rules for the unvaccinated’
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"Many people were infected without realizing it," Spahn told the mass market daily Bild on Saturday.
He added that "with a high-quality antibody test, the infection can now be reliably detected."
It is currently the case that people who have tested positive for a Covid infection with a PCR test are recommended to receive only one dose of a vaccine six months after infection in the case of symptoms.
Those who don't have symptoms can receive the dose four weeks after testing positive.
The single dose plus the positive PCR test suffice in order to be considered fully vaccinated. With many states in the country introducing so-called 2G rules, this allows such people to keep entering restaurants and venues.
Spahn said that people who take an anti-body test in order to find out whether they have had an asymptomatic infection would have to pay for it themselves. Such a test costs around €25.
The update to the rules does not require the government to agree upon a change to the law, the health ministry said.
The new rule will be made official shortly on the homepage of the Paul Ehrlich Institute, the German medical regulatory body.
SEE ALSO: Majority of Germans ‘favour tough rules for the unvaccinated’
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