Europe tightens screws on the unvaccinated

Germany will limit large parts of public life in areas where hospitals are becoming dangerously full of COVID-19 patients to those who have either been vaccinated or have recovered from the illness, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday.

The move is necessary to tackle a “very worrying” fourth wave of the pandemic that is overburdening hospitals, she said.

“Many of the measures that are now needed would not have been needed if more people were vaccinated. And it isn’t too late to get vaccinated now,” Merkel said.

In places where hospitalisation rates exceed a certain threshold, access to public, cultural and sports events and to restaurants will be restricted to those who have been vaccinated or who have recovered.

Merkel said the federal government would also consider a request by regional governments for legislation allowing them to require that care and hospital workers be vaccinated.

Saxony, the region hardest hit by the fourth wave, is considering shutting theatres, concert halls and soccer games, Bild newspaper reported. The eastern state has Germany‘s lowest vaccination rate.

‘DRASTIC MEASURES’

New daily infections have risen 14-fold in the past month in Saxony, a stronghold of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which harbours many vaccine sceptics and anti-lockdown protesters.

This week Austria imposed a lockdown for the unvaccinated and other European countries have also imposed restrictions.

Europe’s latest coronavirus wave comes at an awkward time in Germany, with Merkel acting as caretaker leader while three parties – not including her conservatives – negotiate to form a new government after an inconclusive September election.

Those three parties shepherded a law authorizing measures to tackle the pandemic through parliament earlier on Thursday.

In a show of unity, finance minister and chancellor-in-waiting Olaf Scholz attended Merkel’s news conference.

“To get through the winter, we will see drastic measures that have not been taken before,” he said.

Greece joined several other European countries on Thursday in imposing more restrictions on those unvaccinated against COVID-19 following a surge in infections in recent weeks.

The Czech Republic and Slovakia tightened restrictions on people who have not had COVID-19 shots to try to encourage more to get vaccinated and ease the burden on hospitals.

The Czech government approved plans to allow only those who are vaccinated or have recovered from COVID-19 in the past six months to enter restaurants, attend certain events and use various other services from Monday.

Slovakia took a similar step, in what Prime Minister Eduard Heger called a “lockdown for the unvaccinated”.

The Czech Republic, a country of 10.7 million, reported a record 22,511 cases for one day on Tuesday and hospitals have been filling up although the number of patients – at about 4,500 – is about half the peak seen in March.

Both governments will also require testing for COVID-19 at workplaces.

“The main goal of these measures is motivation for vaccinations,” Czech Health Minister Adam Vojtech said.

With 58% of the population inoculated, the Czech vaccination rate is below the European Union average. Slovakia has the EU’s third-lowest rate, with 45% of the population inoculated, and many Slovak hospitals have filled up, especially in the east.

Bianka Krejciova, a spokesperson for Svet Zdravia, which runs 13 hospitals, said the situation in hospitals in eastern Slovakia was worse than in the previous wave of infections.

Many hospitals in both countries have reduced non-urgent care, and the Czech army has sent personnel to help.

About 10,000 protesters opposed the planned restrictions in the Czech capital Prague on Wednesday and some vaccination centres have faced verbal attacks.

“We fear that from Monday, when stricter restrictions come into place, it will get worse,” said a spokeswoman for the St Anna University Hospital in Brno, the second biggest Czech city.

Macron says France does not need to lock down non-vaccinated people

France does not need to follow those European countries imposing COVID-19 lockdowns on unvaccinated people, because of the success of its health pass in curbing the virus’ spread, President Emmanuel Macron said.

Europe has again become the epicentre of the pandemic, prompting some countries including Germany and Austria to reintroduce restrictions in the run-up to Christmas and causing debate over whether vaccines alone are enough to tame COVID-19.

“Those countries locking down the non-vaccinated are those which have not put in place the (health) pass. Therefore this step is not necessary in France,” Macron told La Voix du Nord newspaper in an interview published on Thursday.

In France, proof of vaccination or a recent negative test is required to go to restaurants, cafes and cinemas and to take long-distance trains, among other activities.

Europe weighs the need for booster shots

The European Union’s drug regulator recommended on Oct. 4 a third dose of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna mRNA vaccines for those with a severely weakened immune system, but left it to member states to decide whether the wider population should get a booster.

Recent contracts with Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna have included the potential for the bloc to buy booster shots.

These European countries are offering boosters to adults after they receive a full dose of a vaccine:

** Austria; Czech Republic; Germany (all over-18s); Hungary; Italy (Pfizer or Moderna booster shots for all inoculated, and for all those who have received a single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine; Malta (all over-12s); Norway; Poland; Russia; Romania (only boosters from Pfizer or Moderna were approved); Serbia; Slovakia; Spain (Pfizer or Moderna booster shots for all inoculated with J&J)

These countries are offering boosters to people with weak immune systems, the elderly or vulnerable:

** Belgium (mRNA); Bulgaria; Britain (plans to extend rollout to over-40s from over-50s); Denmark; Finland (may expand to other Finns later in the autumn); France (so far available only to over-65s, will be offered to over-50s from December); Ireland; Italy (will offer to all over-40s from Nov. 22); Lithuania; Netherlands (over-60s); Portugal; Slovenia; Spain (expanded from over-70s to over-60s); Sweden (larger population to get a jab in 2022); Switzerland (new recommendation for people under 65 expected in the next few weeks)