Germany's Minister of Health Jens Spahn and Lothar Wieler, president of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases, reiterated the importance of people getting vaccinated against COVID-19 at a joint press conference here on Wednesday.

The number of unvaccinated people in Germany is "still too high," Spahn said. "If we do not increase the vaccination rates drastically, the ongoing fourth wave can take a fulminant course" this autumn and winter, he warned.

The share of unvaccinated COVID-19 patients in intensive care units already exceeds 90 percent, according to Spahn, who spoke of a "pandemic among the unvaccinated."

Almost 51.3 million people in Germany have been fully vaccinated as of Wednesday, bringing the country's vaccination rate to 61.7 percent, according to the RKI. Around 55 million people have received at least one vaccine dose.

In order to revive the country's flagging vaccination campaign, the government is planning a nationwide "vaccine action week" from next Monday, offering "creative" opportunities to receive a jab without pre-registration and bureaucratic hurdles at as many locations across Germany as possible, Spahn said.

The number of daily COVID-19 infections stabilized at 13,565 new cases registered within one day on Wednesday, only 34 more than seven days ago, according to the RKI.

The seven-day COVID-19 incidence rate per 100,000 residents in Germany slightly fell from 83.8 cases on Tuesday to 82.7 on Wednesday, compared to 75.7 seven days ago, according to the RKI.

Although incidences could decline on a day-to-day basis, it would be necessary to look at the data over a longer period, said Wieler when asked if the pandemic situation in Germany was improving. "We do not see any trend so far of incidences dropping," he said.