Status: 04/28/2022 5:01 p.m
The virologist Drosten will no longer advise the government and parliament on the Infection Protection Act. He cited the insufficient resources of the committee as one reason. Minister of Health Lauterbach was disappointed.
The chief virologist at the Berlin Charité, Christian Drosten, is no longer available to the Federal Government and Bundestag to evaluate the Infection Protection Act. Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach said this on Twitter and emphasized: “It’s a serious loss because nobody could do it better.”
The head of the Institute for Virology at the Charité Berlin remains a member of the Federal Government’s Corona Expert Council.
The Bundestag had stipulated in the Infection Protection Act that there should be an external evaluation of the requirements in the context of the epidemic situation of national importance that had been in place for several months. A committee of experts had been set up for this purpose, which, according to the law, is to submit a report by June 30th. Scientists from various disciplines belong to the committee.
Criticism of the lack of equipment and media
A Charité spokeswoman confirmed that Drosten informed the committee of his withdrawal. He had come to the conclusion that the equipment and composition were not sufficient to be able to guarantee a scientifically high-quality evaluation.
In addition, in the past few weeks, the content of the consultations has repeatedly become the subject of misleading and incorrect reporting. “From Prof. Drosten’s point of view, this stands in the way of constructive, goal-oriented cooperation in the committee.” After all, the members are bound by strict confidentiality.