Germany must revise its COVID-19 immunization policy to address the Omicron variation and ensure that a new vaccine can be developed quickly if a more lethal coronavirus variant emerges in the future, according to Health Minister Karl Lauterbach.

Lauterbach, who was named health minister last month, made his remarks in an early publication of an interview that will be published on Sunday in the Welt am Sonntag newspaper.

“If we acquire a variety that is as infectious as Omicron but much more lethal,” Lauterbach said, “we should be able to design and produce a new vaccine in a relatively short period.”

Because there might be major new outbreaks, the government is going to put a permanent mechanism in place to acquire and distribute vaccinations quickly at any given moment, he added.
“We must not make the foolish notion that the pandemic will end soon. It’s not over yet, “He stated.

When demand for COVID-19 doses dropped to a trickle before rising up again last summer, Germany shuttered huge immunization centers in numerous states.

According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for Infectious Disease, the Omicron variety currently accounts for 44 percent of coronavirus infections in Germany.

Within 24 hours on Saturday, the RKI tallied 55,889 newly reported corona illnesses, more than double the amount a week earlier.

On Friday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz and regional leaders tightened limits for restaurant and bar visits in a bid to urge more individuals to obtain a third immunization, or booster injection, but cut quarantine durations. more info

A draft law for a nationwide vaccination mandate will also be debated soon in the Bundestag, the lower house of parliament.