BERLIN (dpa-AFX) – According to a survey, a majority of people over the age of 60 who have already been vaccinated three times can also imagine a fourth corona vaccination. Half of those surveyed stated that they were definitely ready for a second booster vaccination, according to a survey by the Civey Institute on behalf of the Association of Private Health Insurance. When asked about their willingness to vaccinate, 16 percent of the survey participants said “rather yes”. For a fifth of those questioned, however, the fourth vaccination is definitely not an option or “rather not” an option. More than 7 percent were still undecided.
When asked how well informed they felt about the need for a fourth corona vaccination, around 80 percent of those surveyed said they felt well or fairly well informed. Almost 15 percent consider themselves to be less well informed or not at all informed.
The Standing Vaccination Commission (Stiko) currently only recommends the second corona booster vaccination to people over the age of 60 and people with previous illnesses. In the meantime, 63.5 million people in Germany have received at least one dose of vaccination against the corona virus, according to the Ministry of Health’s vaccination dashboard. According to this, 9.5 million people have received a fourth corona vaccination.
“I think that many of those who have not yet gotten a second booster have now become infected. Others may have started to get tired of vaccinations,” said the immunologist Carsten Watzl of the dpa. There is certainly an unreported number of people who do not have to be vaccinated again because they were already infected.
The President of the German Society for Geriatrics, Hans Jürgen Heppner, considered the poorer access to vaccination to be an obstacle. “When the first vaccination was given, there were many vaccination centers, there were buses and care. Now we have fewer vaccination centers and a completely different infrastructure.” There is also a media problem. “One says that, the other says that. As a result, you no longer know your way around.”/vrb/DP/zb