Vaccination uptake increases in fourth wave Many elementary school classes quarantined in the region

Rhein-Sieg-Kreis · While the willingness to vaccinate is increasing in the Rhein-Sieg district, the number of people suffering from Corona is also on the rise, especially among young people. Quite a few elementary school classes in the district have been quarantined.

 The number of vaccinations is also on the rise again in family doctor's offices.

The number of vaccinations is also on the rise again in family doctor's offices.

Foto: Meike Böschemeyer

While the willingness to vaccinate is increasing in the Rhein-Sieg district, the number of people suffering from Corona is also on the rise, especially among young people. Quite a few elementary school classes in the district have been quarantined.

The willingness to vaccinate in the Rhine-Sieg district has increased. At the same time, the number of people suffering from Corona is increasing - especially among young people between 20 and 35 years of age. And: Several elementary school classes in the district are quarantined. Parents and teachers have criticized the actions of the state and district.

Situation at schools: "Entire reference groups such as the class, a course or a support group" should no longer be sent into quarantine according to the current decree of the Ministry of Education - but this is still happening. And it is happening in several elementary schools in the Rhein-Sieg district. At least three class groups in Troisdorf, four in Sankt Augustin, several in Hennef and other municipalities in the district have been excluded from attendance classes since the start of school, according to GA information. In one case in Sankt Augustin, according to GA information, the quarantine was carried out in consultation with school management and the health department because there were "special conditions" there. How many there are specifically, the press office of the district could not say on Monday, but contradicts the accusation of parents and teachers that the district health office is "massively overwhelmed". A spokeswoman only confirmed that there were "delays" in notifying the schools, because on the first day of school last Wednesday, so-called pool tests had been carried out in all facilities.

Pupils at the elementary and special schools are accustomed since May 10 to a "Lolli test", a simple saliva test, twice a week in their learning group, so in the pool, are tested for the coronavirus. Initially anonymously. If there is a positive result, parents must give another saliva test to the school the next morning, from where the tests, now matched to the person, are sent to the laboratories. Until the results are in, the entire class must remain in quarantine.

"Our child has been in quarantine for five days now, and it's already back to homeschooling and printing out homework," says a mother from Sankt Augustin. Although her child's negative result has been certain since Thursday night, she says, she has to continue to stay at home - because the health department is not getting back to her. "This is a high burden for children, parents and the schools," says a school principal who does not want her name published. She is extremely annoyed, she admits, because "nothing has happened for a year and a half." There is a lot of responsibility on principals and classroom teachers, she said. "The results of the pool tests come to me by e-mail all night, on Thursday the last one came at just before six pm, then the class teachers have to inform the parents before they bring the children to school." The hotline at the district health office is no longer active at all, he said, and it's hard to reach anyone there because of staff shortages. And teachers are expected to have all the paperwork in front of the office early: The schools must submit seating plans of the classes, but also determine where which child ate lunch with whom or worked in a study group: "All this is in Siegburg, and we still have no answer," grumbles the principal.

More vaccinations

As Jacqueline Hiepler, chairwoman of the Rhine-Sieg Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians and a doctor in Hennef, said in the GA interview, 1200 to 1400 people are currently vaccinated every day at the Sankt Augustin vaccination center. During the vacation season, there were only 500 to 800 vaccinations per day. Among them, he said, were some second vaccinations with appointments, but most were first-time vaccinations.

"My impression is that it's a lot of working people, because the crowds always pick up significantly after 5 p.m.," Hiepler said. The vaccination center is currently open from 2 to 7 p.m. every day. Biontech vaccine is the main vaccine used, he said, with only occasional use of Moderna for secondary vaccinations. Johnson & Johnson would be vaccinated sporadically by primary care physicians. Incidentally, general practitioners also registered a significant increase in the willingness to vaccinate.

Twelve- to 15-year-olds

The number of vaccinations for children and adolescents between the ages of 12 and 15 remains high. At the vaccination center, this age group is only vaccinated on weekends, when a pediatrician is available to take a medical history and provide the appropriate education. However, Hiepler said parents usually go to pediatricians first and foremost. He said 17.8 percent of 12- to 15-year-olds in Rhine-Sieg County are now fully vaccinated, with an additional 10.6 percent receiving initial vaccinations. "In families where the parents are vaccinated, the willingness to vaccinate is naturally higher," Hiepler said. "I don't get the impression that this is handled differently."

Mobile vaccination teams: the KV chairwoman is also satisfied with the results of the mobile vaccination teams. Over the weekend, teams were on the road in Königswinter, Bad Honnef and Windeck. The offer in Windeck was very strongly taken up, there more than 200 people were inoculated for the first time. In Bad Honnef and Königswinter, it was about 100 to 150, Hiepler said. "For this, the effort is high, but on the other hand, we reach people in this low-threshold way who otherwise would not travel to the vaccination center."

Conversely, the so-called drive-through vaccination in Lohmar, which means people drive up in their cars and are vaccinated in their vehicles, has been cancelled, he said. "This did not take place because the initiators only wanted to vaccinate people who come by car. But this is not in line with our strategy to reach people who are not able to come to the vaccination center in Sankt Augustin. My attitude is that those who come to Lohmar by car can also come to Sankt Augustin by car," said Hiepler.

Fourth Corona wave:

the doctor had already said a week ago that the fourth Corona wave was rolling on. "Now it's already in full swing," she said. The Corona cases she has treated are all unvaccinated people. But overall, the percentage probably makes up 90 percent countywide, she said. "And they're really sick, not to the point where I have to hospitalize them, but they're struggling with fever, cough and shortness of breath. With sprays, they get by to some extent," Hiepler said. And those infected are young: 20 to 35 years old.

What does the physician think of the new corona protection regulations, according to which there are now only two incidence levels? "In the end, the decisive factor is how many people fall ill and how much of a burden it places on our healthcare system," says the Hennef physician. "With the first waves, we were afraid that we would have a situation in the clinics where there would be triage, i.e. intensive care prioritization decisions. But now the situation is different, so of course there have to be new criteria." There are currently many younger people getting sick, but at the same time there are fewer cases with a high incidence that need intensive care treatment, he said.

Currently, 25 people suffering from Covid-19 are receiving intensive care in Bonn and the Rhein-Sieg district, 13 of whom are receiving invasive ventilation, according to the intensive care registry. Only 19 intensive care beds were available in the region on Monday. Hiepler: "Now that virtually everyone has been offered vaccination, yes, it's an individual decision to get involved, to be infected and possibly risk a severe course of disease.“

Long Covid:

There are also cases of long covid in her district, she said. These are long-term physical and mental health impairments associated with overcome Covid 19 disease. Symptoms either emerge during the acute phase of illness and persist over the longer term, or they appear over the course of weeks and months after infection. "Primary care physicians in the county are seeing this," Hiepler said. "It's mostly a few older and middle-aged people 50 and older who got sick in the first three waves. There aren't a lot of young ones yet, but there are some coming in. I'm also hearing from pediatricians that there are Long Covid cases in children."

Original text: Dylan Cem Akalin

Translation: Mareike Graepel

Meistgelesen
Neueste Artikel
Zum Thema
Aus dem Ressort