© dpa
In Berlin, more than 6000 people have been vaccinated against monkeypox so far.
As of last Friday, exactly 6417 such vaccinations had been carried out, a spokeswoman for the Senate Department for Higher Education and Research, Health, Long-Term Care and Gender Equality said on Monday in response to a query. She referred to figures from 28 vaccination centers. Included in the total number are 90 cases in which particularly vulnerable people have already received a second dose. Berlin has reported by far the most cases of the disease of all German states: about 1550.
The first monkeypox case in Germany became known in May. In Berlin, vaccinations against the viral infection had begun in mid-July. The Standing Commission on Vaccination (Stiko) recommends this for certain groups and people who have had close contact with infected persons. It sees an increased risk of infection particularly among men who have same-sex sexual contact with changing partners.
"Demand for monkeypox vaccine is very high in Berlin," the Senate Department for Health tweeted on Monday. Unfortunately, the vaccine is still in very short supply. "We have therefore again requested the other federal states: today we receive 160 doses from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern." Initially, according to the spokeswoman, 8000 vaccine doses had gone to the capital, another 3400 came from subsequent deliveries after negotiations with the federal and state governments.
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) had recently called on federal states with only a few cases to hand over vaccines to the state of Berlin. According to estimates by the charity organisation Deutsche Aidshilfe, around one million vaccine doses are needed in Germany to provide half a million people with lasting vaccination protection.
Berlin's Senate Department for Health says there has been a significant downward trend in new monkeypox infections for some time. For the past week, 39 cases were reported to the State Office for Health and Social Affairs (Lageso), compared to 68 in the previous reporting week, the spokeswoman explained. Nationwide, 3295 cases are known so far, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). According to current knowledge, close contact with infected persons is required for infection.