Coronavirus
Green health politician warns against opening too quickly
Green expert Janosch Dahmen speaks at a session of the Bundestag. (Archive image) Photo: Kay Nietfeld/dpa
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The calls for perspectives to open up are getting louder. But Greens expert Dahmen warns: “We’re not over the mountain yet.” The federal government’s vaccination target is about to fail.
After calls for opening perspectives, the Green health politician Janosch Dahmen warned against easing the corona pandemic too quickly.
“There is no reason for opening measures to be taken in the short term,” said the member of the Bundestag of the German Press Agency in Berlin. “We’re not over the hill yet.” The hospitalization rate is now increasing again, there is no reason to give the all-clear. If the situation worsens, it would be better to think about expanding existing protective measures such as 2G Plus rules.
Despite the further increase in the number of corona infections, calls for a concept for lifting restrictions have recently become louder. Leading FDP and CSU politicians, among others, made corresponding statements. They justified this with the previously less severe course of the disease in the omicron wave.
Clinics expect many patients
CSU boss Markus Söder said on Sunday evening in ARD’s “Report from Berlin”: “In this omicron wall that is coming towards us, we also have to look for a door through which you can go into a new era. So be careful, yes, but also with hope.” Due to the rapid spread of the omicron variant, clinics are preparing for numerous new patients.
The federal and state governments had agreed a week ago that opening perspectives should be developed for the moment when an overload of the health system can be ruled out. The next consultations are so far planned for February 16.
Meanwhile, the federal government’s vaccination target for the end of January will probably be missed by a wide margin. According to data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) on Saturday, 75.7 percent of people in Germany had received at least one vaccine dose up to and including Friday. The aim was to vaccinate 80 percent of the population against Corona at least once by the end of January.
Vaccination obligation still under discussion
Dahmen said: “We are clearly not getting off the mark in Germany with enough speed.” More intensive efforts are also needed from the federal states and municipalities so that more previously unvaccinated people can be vaccinated. Against this background, Dahmen once again spoke out in favor of a consistent implementation of the institution-related compulsory vaccination in the healthcare system and the speedy preparation of a general compulsory vaccination. The introduction and design of this is currently the subject of heated debate.
CSU regional group leader Alexander Dobrindt announced in the “Münchner Merkur” (Monday) that he was working on a “vaccination precautionary law”. A compulsory vaccination must be adapted to the situation. The Union faction will present a “differentiated law” on this. “That means: adapted to the risk or the danger of an infection developing, combined with the expected burdens on the health system, adapted to groups or ages at risk and for a very short period of time.”
Three approaches to compulsory vaccination
On Wednesday, the Bundestag discussed the socially explosive topic in an orientation debate. So far there have essentially been three approaches: A draft for compulsory vaccination from the age of 18 is currently being prepared by parliamentarians from all traffic light groups. A group led by the FDP MP Andrew Ullmann recently specified a push for a “middle way”: With a mandatory, professional and personal consultation for all adult unvaccinated. And if after a certain time the necessary vaccination rate is not achieved, proof of vaccination from the age of 50 is mandatory. A group led by FDP Vice Wolfgang Kubicki wants to prevent compulsory vaccination in general.
Thousands of people demonstrated again at the weekend against the introduction of compulsory vaccination and against government measures to combat the pandemic. An event on Sunday in Nuremberg triggered sharp criticism in social media. It took place at the Volksfestplatz in the immediate vicinity of the former Nazi Party Rally Grounds. On January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor.
The chairman of the conference of interior ministers, Bavaria’s department head Joachim Herrmann, warned “extremist arsonists who are ready to use violence and want to exploit the protests to spread their radical ideas and their anti-democratic attitude”. He continued to tell the newspapers of the Funke media group: “Regardless of the fact that I think it’s questionable to call for demonstrations on the anniversary of Hitler’s seizure of power, I have a clear message: our protection of the constitution has a special focus on right-wing extremists and Reich citizens and a special collection – Observation object “Security-endangering anti-democratic efforts” set up.”