Vaccinated people may still become infected with the coronavirus, a fact which health experts highlighted right from the beginning of the campaign. The most recent report from the Ministry of Health confirms this notion, as it conveys that 16.6% of new cases were fully vaccinated people. During the previous week, the rate was set at 18.6%.
Dr Dentzer emphasised that the vaccine is still highly efficient at preventing hospitalisations or severe issues for people who catch the coronavirus after all: “Data shows that vaccinated people get very few symptoms in general, minor headaches, for instance, which is not very dramatic. The number of fully vaccinated people still in need of hospitalisation is very insignificant.”
For unvaccinated people it is important to understand that even those who got all the necessary jabs can still pass the virus on. The likelihood is small, but present nevertheless: “We can still expect to see isolated clusters break out, which will put more unvaccinated people in the hospital.”
When it comes to the question of herd immunity, Dr Dentzer explained that there is still a long way ahead. Other countries and institutions have different opinions on when the threshold is reached. Luxembourg wants to achieve 70-75%, while the German Robert Koch Institute argues that a rate of 80-85% is necessary.
The virologist concluded: “We now have a little over 50% of residents fully vaccinated, and another significant fraction with one shot administered. We currently estimate that we reach 70-75% by September.”
As a final note, Dr Dentzer emphasised that negative effects from a positive Covid-19 infection far outweigh potential side effects from the vaccine.
