Is it not so scary?
Doctors told about the possibility to adjust the vaccine in case of virus mutation
The currently known mutations of the Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus are not of fundamental importance for the effectiveness of the vaccine, but if such changes occur in the future, the vaccine can be adjusted, said Lars Schaade, deputy head of the Robert Koch Institute.
"It is not the case that each mutation leads to a change in the level of danger of the virus or such a change for immunity that the vaccine will already be ineffective. Mutations have been reported a lot, but so far they have had no effect on the danger of the virus and on immunity," Schaade said at a briefing on Thursday.
According to him, if a significant mutation occurs, then the vaccine will have to be "adjusted", but there are already mechanisms for this that have been developed with the flu.
"There is a concept of a vaccine that is, in principle, approved for use, which is safe and which can be adjusted. Therefore, in general, and for the coronavirus, it can be imagined if there are such mutations in the future," Schaade said.
He also said that the Robert Koch Institute, which has been holding briefings twice a week on the situation with the coronavirus epidemic in the country since February, will stop this practice next week. The reason for this decision was a decrease in the growth rate of new COVID-19 cases. At the same time, new briefings can take place if the situation requires it.
To date, 166 thousand cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Germany, 7.1 thousand people have died, and almost 140 thousand have recovered. Against the background of a decrease in the growth rate of new cases (700-1300 in recent days), Germany is easing control measures, this process began on April 21 and now the regional authorities independently determine the procedure for resuming the work of public enterprises and institutions. On the eve of Chancellor Angela Merkel announced the overcoming of the "first stage of the pandemic" in Germany, but warned that the pandemic is only in the initial stage. According to the Robert Koch Institute, it can last up to two years and will develop in waves.
At the same time, the federal and regional authorities have agreed on an insurance mechanism: if more than 50 cases per 100,000 people are recorded in an administrative unit within a week or a local outbreak is noted in institutions such as nursing homes, the regional authorities introduce restrictive measures. They are removed, respectively, when the number of new cases in seven days falls below 50 per 100 thousand of the population.
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