BERLIN, Jan 7, Reuters -- The country's highest COVID 19 vaccination rate is in the northern German maritime state of Bremen, but it has become the hardest hit by the spread of the Omicron variant, reporting the highest infection rate of any region in Germany.
Experts say that the spike in Bremen could herald where Germany as a whole is heading in the coming days, https: www.reuters. Com world europe frustratedgerman towns-urge leaders-plan for fourth-covid dose -- 2022 -- 01 06.
The seven-day infection rate in Bremen was 800 cases per 100,000 residents on Thursday, the highest in Germany and more than double the national rate of 303, according to the Robert Koch Institute RKI for infectious diseases.
I assume that Bremen is a little further ahead than other federal states, said Hajo Zeeb, a researcher and epidemiologist at the Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology in Bremen.
He said that many of Germany's federal states are expected to report similar infections to Bremen in the coming days.
Germany's leaders are going to discuss how to respond to the Omicron variant later in the day, with measures including shortening COVID 19 self-isolation periods due to fears that critical services could grind to a halt as case numbers spike.
The higher infection rate in the state could be due to Bremen's location near the Netherlands and Denmark, where Omicron has already become the dominant variant, according to Zeeb.
Omicron now accounts for more than 85% of the coronaviruses in Bremen, well above the national figure of around 44%, according to data from the RKI on Thursday.
The city's success in in inoculating most of its residents early last year could be another reason.
He said that you have a bit more of a vaccine gap than others who were a bit later with the vaccine.
Over the course of several months, studies have shown that there is protection against Omicrons at www.reuters. Healthcare-pharmaceuticals significant-increase protection-compared to omicron-mrna boosters-study - says 2021 -- 12 -- 22 and increases again after a booster shot.
Nearly 84% of the population in Bremen, the smallest of Germany's 16 federal states with fewer than 700,000 people, are double-vaccinated, compared to a national figure of around 72%. Some 44% have received a booster shot, compared to 42% nationally.
Bremen is a somewhat more accurate representation of the actual figures in Germany because coronavirus testing there did not slow down during the holiday season, as it did in many other regions, according to Zeeb.
Last week, German health Minister Karl Lauterbach said that the number of new cases had been under-reported and the actual incidence rate of infections was about two or three times higher than the official figure.
The state's government has added further restrictions to curbing infections, including requiring a negative rapid test or proof of a booster shot to enter restaurants or cultural events, in addition to proving double-vaccination.
The state's hospitals were not as burdened as they were in the first three waves of the epidemic, as patients infected with the new variant were coming in with milder symptoms, said Lukas Fuhrmann, spokesperson for Bremen's health senate.
Doctors say the situation in hospitals could worsen soon, and that non-intensive care units were already overburdened with patients with milder lung symptoms.
The city of Bremen's seven-day hospitalization incidence was 13.6 cases per 100,000 people on Thursday, three times more than the national incidence of around 3.
Felix Diekmann, medical director at the St. Joseph-Stift hospital in Bremen, said the situation is certainly a nightmare. Although the situation is still manageable, the city might have to send COVID - 19 patients to other states if it runs out of its intensive care beds, he said.