display
Berlin (dpa) - More than 30 million people in Germany have already received their first corona vaccination - and in the next few months there should be at least as many again.
Since the start of the vaccination campaign in Germany almost five months ago, the willingness to vaccinate has increased significantly.
This is the result of a YouGov survey commissioned by the German Press Agency.
According to this, almost three quarters of Germans over the age of 18 want to be immunized against the corona virus.
36 percent of those questioned have already had themselves vaccinated at least once, and another 38 percent intend to do so.
Together that's 74 percent.
display
Shortly before the start of the vaccination campaign on December 27, only 65 percent had decided in favor of a vaccination.
19 percent rejected the immunization at the time, now it is only 15 percent.
The proportion of people who are undecided has fallen from 16 to 11 percent since the end of December.
The federal government is campaigning for as many people as possible in Germany to be immunized.
The aim is to achieve what is known as herd immunity, which also protects those who are not vaccinated against infection.
According to various assessments by researchers, a vaccination rate between 60 and 80 percent is necessary for this.
According to official information, 30.4 million people in Germany had received at least one corona vaccination by Saturday.
That is 36.5 percent of the total population.
More than nine million people (10.9 percent) already have full vaccination protection.
display
In the opinion of the Standing Vaccination Commission (Stiko), however, citizens must be vaccinated again at the latest next year. «The virus will not leave us again. The current corona vaccinations will therefore not be the last, "said Stiko boss Thomas Mertens to the newspapers of the Funke media group. "Basically, we have to be prepared for the fact that everyone may have to refresh their vaccination protection in the next year."
SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach expects that immunity will last around six months after a vaccination. The first refreshment will therefore be due for some in the fall, he told the Funke newspapers. Should mutations spread in Germany against which the current vaccines are not as effective, one may have to start an adapted vaccine earlier.
The vaccines from Astrazeneca and Johnson & Johnson did not work so well against the South African variant.
"If this variant spreads widely with us, the people affected should be the first to be better immunized," said Lauterbach.
Mertens pointed out that the manufacturers say they are already working on modified vaccines that are supposed to be effective against relevant currently known mutants.
display
According to the Stiko boss, it is also conceivable that the vaccination protection in individual groups is already waning or is generally too weak.
This could affect individual age groups or people with certain previous illnesses.
In patients whose immune defense is controlled by drugs, it could be that a third dose is necessary in the short term, according to Mertens.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210516-99-614594 / 4