|
© – |
People die from COVID-19 even though they are vaccinated? Such news regularly appears in the media, including in Germany. This is again the phenomenon known as the ‘breakdown in immune protection after vaccination’, which we have already written about. Deutsche Welle checked the facts.
Do the breakthroughs show that the vaccines are not working?
No. They prove something else that has been known so far: none of the vaccines have 100 percent protection. According to the Robert Koch Institute, vaccine efficacy is in the range of 82-83 percent. However, protection through vaccines declines over time. Six to nine months after vaccination, the antibodies in the body weaken.
One thing is certain, however: vaccinations definitely prevent the severe development of the disease. According to Robert Koch’s statistics, a total of 67,661 cases of breaches in the immunization protection of vaccinated people have been registered in Germany this year, but only 0.52 percent of these people have been forced to go to the intensive care unit. The deaths in this group are about 1 percent, and most often it is the elderly, in whom the death risk is statistically much higher.
To what extent does the immune system weaken due to the “time” factor?
It depends a lot on the individual, on his age, on the presence of chronic diseases, on the intervals between the two doses of the vaccine. And, of course, from the type of vaccine itself. Especially in the elderly, the elderly and people with cancer or transplants, the immune system declines faster than others. That is why the Standing Committee on Immunization in Germany last week already recommended that people over the age of 70 be vaccinated with a third dose. A third dose will also be offered to anyone working in medical facilities and nursing homes.
Is the number of breakthroughs increasing?
Yes. However, experts from the Robert Koch Institute report that this trend is logical and easy to explain. First, the number of vaccinated in Germany is already very high, and this naturally increases the number of breakthroughs. And second, the coronavirus is now spreading quite aggressively again, which also increases the risk of infection in fully vaccinated people.
Are unvaccinated people to blame for the breakthroughs in the immune system?
No. But their behavior plays a key role in the course of the pandemic and in the workload of medical facilities. According to the Robert Koch Institute, the recent increase in hospitalizations is mainly due to non-immunized people over the age of 60. If the number of infections is expected to increase during the current autumn months, the infection will mainly affect non-immunized people.
–
