The concern among doctors is great: Continued high corona numbers and then a flu epidemic can lead to considerable isolation efforts in hospitals and staff shortages. That is why general practitioners and hospital doctors have an urgent request.
In view of the flu season, which started particularly early this year, the German Association of General Practitioners called for people to be vaccinated against influenza and warned of the heavy burden on general practitioners’ practices. “We have been campaigning and working for months to significantly increase the vaccination rates for flu vaccinations,” said the Federal Chairman of the General Practitioners’ Association, Markus Beier, the editorial network Germany (RND).
He advised everyone over the age of 60, as well as people with chronic illnesses, to make an appointment in their family doctor’s office as soon as possible. “Flu vaccination can also make sense for younger people, for example if they have a lot of close contact with other people in their everyday work or if a particularly vulnerable person lives in their household,” says Beier. “When in doubt, you should talk to your family doctor and then make a decision together.”
The general practitioner and association chairman complained that the flu vaccination rate was too low. In recent years, this has been around 40 percent among those over 60, and recently slightly higher. “From our point of view, that is not enough. Unfortunately, the impression from the practices so far is not that the vaccination rate will increase significantly this year,” said Beier.
The German Hospital Society (DKG) also called for flu vaccinations. “The main focus is on the staff situation in the hospitals, which can lead to problems,” said DKG CEO Gerald Gass to the RND. “A strong wave of influenza, the increase in other respiratory diseases and continued high corona numbers lead to considerable isolation efforts in hospitals and can result in staff shortages,” explained Gass. “This would then also affect the supply. It is therefore extremely important that the flu vaccination is used by as many people as possible, but especially by people at risk,” appealed the DKG boss.
The general practitioners also warned of an impending additional burden from a strong flu epidemic and high corona incidences. “The practices have been working at full capacity for almost three years now,” said Markus Beier. Hospitals are often the focus of public attention, but general practitioners and practice teams are also exhausted.