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On Tuesday morning, the head of the National Health Directorate joined our colleagues at RTL Radio for an interview.
"We cannot be naive and have to expect an infection spike in autumn", Dr Schmit stated at the beginning of the interview. Same as last year, a wave of infections will hit the Grand Duchy before the end of the year. Despite high vaccination rates, the Delta variant is expected to keep spreading over the coming months.
Dr Schmit underlined the importance of pushing on in the vaccination campaign to raise the collective level of protection against Covid-19. When it comes to the rate of fully vaccinated adults, Luxembourg is slightly ahead of the European average with 70.6%.
Health officials want to facilitate access to the vaccines as much as possible, Dr Schmit explained. The mobile unit has so far turned out to be a great success. Furthermore, it is important to continue debunking fake news that circulate on social media, Dr Schmit stated.
When asked about booster shots, the head of the health directorate noted that an analysis of the situation is currently underway. Data from Israel is likely to be published over the course of this week, which will certainly be used to gain clarity on the effects.
Dr Schmit also conveyed that between 20 and 25% of recent infections came down to fully vaccinated people. Officials are now looking to analyse the circumstances of the infections to establish a potential pattern.
When it comes to the school return in September, Dr Schmit admitted that is is unclear at this stage whether masks will still be mandatory or not. A meeting with the Ministry of Education is however scheduled to take place over the next days.
