By Riham Alkousaa

BERLIN, (Reuters) – Bremen in northern Germany is home to the highest COVID-19-vaccination rate. However, it has also been the worst-affected by Omicron variant spreading rapidly. The region has reported the highest rate of infection of all regions of Germany.

Experts believe that the rise in Bremen may signal where Germany is headed in the next days.

According to the Robert Koch Institute for Infectious Diseases (RKI), the seven-day infected rate in Bremen was 800 per 100,000 people on Thursday. This is the highest rate in Germany, and nearly twice the national rate, which stands at 303.

Hajo Zeeb, of the Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology (Bremen), said that “I suppose Bremen is just slightly ahead than other Federal States.”

He indicated that he anticipated many federal German states reporting similar rates to Bremen’s in the days ahead.

Germany’s top leaders will discuss the Omicron variant of Friday. They plan to talk about how they respond, including measures such as shortening COVID-19 self isolation periods. This is to reduce fears that critical services may grind to a halt due to rising case numbers.

Zeeb stated that Bremen’s close proximity to Denmark (where Omicron already has the dominant variant) and Holland could explain the increased infection rate.

According to Thursday’s data, Omicron accounts for over 85% of all coronavirus-related infections in Bremen. This is well beyond the 44% national average.

A second reason is the city’s early success with immunizations.

His words were: “You might have more vaccine gaps than people who got the vaccine a lot later,” he stated.

Studies have shown that protection against Omicron wanes over the course of several months https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/significant-increase-protection-vs-omicron-mrna-boosters-study-says-2021-12-22 and increases again following a booster shot.

Nearly 84% of Bremen’s population, which is the smallest state in Germany with less than 700,000.000 inhabitants, has been double-vaccinated compared to a national average of 72%. About 44% of the population in Bremen have had a booster shot, while 42% nationwide.

Bremen can also be a more precise representation of actual German figures, Zeeb explained.

Karl Lauterbach (German Health Minister) stated that there were two- or three times more infections than reported.

Further restrictions were imposed by the government of the state on Thursday to combat infections. They required a negative rapid screening or evidence that you have received a booster shot in order for you to be allowed to enter restaurants or cultural events.

According to Lukas Fuhrmann (Bremen’s spokesperson), despite the high infection rate, hospitals in Bremen were less crowded than in previous waves. This was because patients with this new variant of the virus were coming in with more mild symptoms.

The situation at hospitals is expected to worsen, according to Doctors. Non-intensive Care Units are already overloaded with patients with milder symptoms.

Bremen saw a three-fold increase in hospitalizations over the same period, at 13.6 for every 100,000 residents on Thursday.

Felix Diekmann (medical director, St. Joseph-Stift Hospital in Bremen) said that the situation was “certainly a nightmare.” The situation can be managed, but the city could have to move COVID-19-infant patients to other countries if they run out of intensive care beds.