German Health Minister recommends new Covid jab as infections increase
German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach has called for residents to get Covid-19 booster vaccinations ahead of autumn, and is hoping more people wear face masks as infection rates rise.
"Covid infection is not a cold, it's not a small thing," the SPD politician said in Berlin on Monday.
People over 60, as well as those with risk factors, should reduce the risk of permanent damage like Long Covid by getting vaccinated, Lauberbach said.
READ ALSO: German doctors urge Covid self-test amid new variant
The 60-year-old received a jab on Monday, when the BionTech preparation, which has been adapted to current virus variants, is available in doctors surgeries around Germany.
A total of 14 million doses are expected for this vaccination season. The jab, adapted to the Omircon subline virus XBB.1.5, is supposed to protect better against circulating variants.
Lauterbach said that a large number of infection cases are to be expected again this autumn. However, he reassured people in Germany that there is already broad immunity in the population.
"We also don't need any measures, in the sense of contact restrictions, after all that we know at the moment.”
Nevertheless, everyone should also protect themselves if they carry risk factors. "This can also include mask use in rooms with a lot of people if they are at risk."
The acting president of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Lars Schaade, said that it is mostly viruses of the XBB subline variants which are circulating at the moment. So far, there are no international indications that these variants are linked to more severe patterns of disease.
But Lauterbach emphasised that "In the pandemic, we have all learned what it means to take care of each other" and called for people to “protect each other voluntarily" through mask-wearing and social distancing when needed.
Vocabulary
Vaccine - (der) Impstoff
Shot - (die) Spritze
Contact restrictions - (die) Kontaktbeschränkungen
Immunity - (die) Immunität
We’re aiming to help our readers improve their German by translating vocabulary from some of our news stories. Did you find this article useful? Let us know.
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"Covid infection is not a cold, it's not a small thing," the SPD politician said in Berlin on Monday.
People over 60, as well as those with risk factors, should reduce the risk of permanent damage like Long Covid by getting vaccinated, Lauberbach said.
READ ALSO: German doctors urge Covid self-test amid new variant
The 60-year-old received a jab on Monday, when the BionTech preparation, which has been adapted to current virus variants, is available in doctors surgeries around Germany.
A total of 14 million doses are expected for this vaccination season. The jab, adapted to the Omircon subline virus XBB.1.5, is supposed to protect better against circulating variants.
Lauterbach said that a large number of infection cases are to be expected again this autumn. However, he reassured people in Germany that there is already broad immunity in the population.
"We also don't need any measures, in the sense of contact restrictions, after all that we know at the moment.”
Nevertheless, everyone should also protect themselves if they carry risk factors. "This can also include mask use in rooms with a lot of people if they are at risk."
The acting president of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Lars Schaade, said that it is mostly viruses of the XBB subline variants which are circulating at the moment. So far, there are no international indications that these variants are linked to more severe patterns of disease.
But Lauterbach emphasised that "In the pandemic, we have all learned what it means to take care of each other" and called for people to “protect each other voluntarily" through mask-wearing and social distancing when needed.
Vocabulary
Vaccine - (der) Impstoff
Shot - (die) Spritze
Contact restrictions - (die) Kontaktbeschränkungen
Immunity - (die) Immunität
We’re aiming to help our readers improve their German by translating vocabulary from some of our news stories. Did you find this article useful? Let us know.
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