A COVID-19 Vaccine Is Possibly Available in January According to Anschober
Minister Anschober announced that with the start of schools and the colder weather the fourth phase of the Corona pandemic is starting, which will last until a vaccine is found. Therefore, the next months will be very challenging also because of increase in influenza cases.
According to Anschober, there will not be any school lockdowns recommened anymore. / Picture: © Flickr / Nik Anderson (CC BY 2.0)
In the today's press conference, Anschober talked about the upcoming months but also about the mistakes which occurred at the beginning of the pandemic.
First, he reviewed the previous months and admitted that the government misjudged the situation at the beginning with reference to Ischgl. However, Austria reacted fast and got through the crisis well.
The Health Minister then reminded that the upcoming months will be very challenging as other diseases like the influenza will spread more. This could lead to an overload of the health care system.
This risk will be present until a vaccine for COVID-19 is found. According to Anschober, it is already imaginable to have a vaccine in January or February 2021.
As the vaccination rate is very low in Austria, it is highly important to encourage people to get vaccinated for the virus.
Currently, 600,000 vaccine boxes for 300,000 people are reserved which will be primarely given out to workforces of the health care system.
Concerning the traffic light system in schools, it is planned to create a homepage with clear explanation of all colors and measures.
What is already fixed is that there will not be any recommendation of a lockdown of schools anymore, also if the traffic light shows the color red.