Can Germany still win the race against the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus? How high will the fourth wave rise in winter, and with it the number of new, serious illnesses and deaths? Will the Chancellor's appeal to common sense and solidarity lead to an increase in the vaccination rate? Not only leading virologists are concerned about the paralyzing vaccination campaign in this country. Many younger people simply refuse the first and second spades out of convenience or a false sense of security in view of the apparently still low incidences. Although, unlike in spring, there is now an abundance of vaccines, which are already perishable in many medical practices due to vaccination fatigue.
However, a rate of well below 85 percent fully vaccinated, even in the particularly vulnerable group of over 60s, is not enough to keep hospital occupancy low in autumn and winter. To make matters worse, many of the more than 13 million children and adolescents will probably not be vaccinated until the end of the year, but will be exposed to an infection after the holidays. Many parents are already unsettled whether there will be only a few long Covid courses in the case of a large number of infections.
Just a look at other European countries, which already have significantly higher infection rates, also shows the threatened polarization of the debate here. In Greece, anti-vaccination militants are taking action against government plans to make vaccinations compulsory. In France and Italy, only those who are fully vaccinated will soon be allowed in restaurants, cinemas or theaters. The rough pressure to be more willing to vaccinate leads to right-fired protests against an alleged two-class society. England shows that it may end in disaster to let an aggressive virus run unchecked through a completely open country with many not yet vaccinated. Hopefully Germany is immune to such experiments.