Germany’s health minister has warned that Covid-19 is becoming the “pandemic of the unvaccinated” as 90% of the country’s intensive care patients are those who refused a potentially life-saving shot.
Speaking on Friday, Health Minister Jens Spahn said people who have not been vaccinated against the virus have a responsibility to others including those under the age of 12 who are unable to be inoculated.
He said the virus would very likely find people who have not yet been vaccinated this autumn and winter, and he urged vaccine-hesitant citizens to come forward. He claimed that Covid-19 was already the “pandemic of the unvaccinated,” adding that those who have refused the shots represent 90% of intensive care patients at the moment.
On a more positive note, Spahn suggested that there was light at the end of the tunnel. He claimed that if no new variants hinder the effectiveness of the vaccines, then Germany will be in the clear by spring.
In Germany, 65.6% of people have received at least one vaccine in the fight against Covid-19, with the shots offered to everyone above the age of 12. The figure is comparable with the UK and France, although Britain is yet to extend the use of the vaccine to teens.
Germany has already started offering booster shots to vulnerable people amid concern that vaccine efficacy wanes over time and that new variants may reduce the effectiveness of the shots.
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