Germany fears fourth Covid wave as vaccination rates remain low

With a new governing coalition yet to be formed and jab refusal high, experts worry the country is unprepared for a surge in cases

Concerns are mounting in Germany about a rapidly growing and hard to predict fourth wave of Covid-19 this autumn, as the government is in transition and flatlining vaccination rates lag behind those in the rest of western Europe.

An increasingly mobile population, a largely dismantled pop-up testing infrastructure and reduced staffing at hospitals have led some experts to warn that the government is facing a resurgent virus with less resolve than at previous stages of the pandemic.