Berlin, July 8, (dpa/GNA) – The rate of vaccination against the coronavirus rose again in Germany, after showing signs of decline, the official disease control body reported on Thursday.
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) said the more infectious Delta variant had taken over as the predominant strain.
The proportion of the population fully vaccinated against the virus stood at 40.8 per cent on Thursday, up from 39.9 per cent on Wednesday, it said.
More than 961,000 shots were administered on Wednesday, and more than 47.8 million people have been vaccinated at least once, equivalent to 57.6 per cent of the population.
Some 33.9 million have been fully vaccinated.
Earlier, the RKI reported that over the week to Sunday, an average of 710,000 shots were administered across the country every day, down from 800,500 the week before.
The Delta variant is held responsible for 59 per cent of infections during the week to June 27, with its share of the total almost doubling over the previous week. The RKI said it was likely the variant was by now behind two thirds of all infections.
By contrast, the Alpha variant declined from 91 per cent at the end of May to 33 per cent at the end of June. Other variants are as yet not significant in Germany.
The health authorities have urged people to take up the offers of vaccination, pointing to evidence from other countries that full vaccination does offer substantial protection against falling seriously ill with Delta variant.
In the face of calls for restrictions to be eased, Christine Falk, president of the German immunologists association, called for masks to be worn and other rules to be observed.
“If we do nothing, this thing will go through the roof,” she told dpa, pointing to evidence from Australia that the Delta variant is transmitted much more readily than Alpha.
RKI figures show that a small proportion of those vaccinated can fall ill.
To date there have been 3,806 such cases of symptomatic infection two weeks after full vaccination.
Karl Lauterbach, health spokesman for the Social Democrats (SPD) expressed consternation at moves by Germany’s most populous state, North Rhine Westphalia, to ease restrictions.
“We are in a phase in which case rates are rising again, and progress with vaccination is slowing,” he told regional broadcaster WDR. “I was surprised by the timing of the easing measures.”
The state has decided to open discos, sports events and music and other festivals from Friday. In many cases, rules on distancing and wearing masks have been eased as well.
German states have considerable leeway in deciding their own policy, although the federal government has sought to coordinate measures.
GNA