Unvaccinated soccer player
Lauterbach offers Kimmich to vaccinate him personally against Corona
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD)
© Wolfgang Kumm / DPA
Health Minister Karl Lauterbach is known for his expertise in the corona pandemic. Now the trained doctor personally offers the vaccination to an unvaccinated national player.
The corona vaccinations are not progressing fast enough in Germany. The vaccination target of 80 percent set by Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) by the end of January was just missed. As of Tuesday, according to the daily statistics of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), only 75.8 percent of Germans have been vaccinated at least once. The great momentum just before Christmas, when millions of citizens were again queuing for an injection for fear of the omicron virus variant, has subsided.
Now Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SDP), himself a trained doctor, wants to take countermeasures and makes a surprising offer to the unvaccinated football star Joshua Kimmich: “I offer him to vaccinate him myself and explain all the risks. They are significantly higher if you don’t vaccinate “, Lauterbach told the magazine “Colorful“.
Karl Lauterbach: “I also vaccinated friends and family”
FC Bayern player Kimmich (26) caused a stir last year with his statement that he did not want to be vaccinated. Kimmich later fell ill with Corona himself and revised his aversion to vaccination.
The health minister was understanding. “That’s great, I never judged him. The body is his capital, so he was afraid,” said Lauterbach. Kimmich explained in a ZDF interview: “In general, it was just difficult for me to deal with my fears and concerns, which is why I was undecided for so long.”
In an interview with the “Bunte”, the Minister of Health said that he had also vaccinated friends and family himself. “First and foremost my daughter, because she wanted it,” says Lauterbach. The most touching moment for him personally was when his 86-year-old mother was vaccinated. “She comes from a generation that believes vaccination is a blessing and still knew about diseases like polio.”
He also vaccinated people from a bus against the corona virus in social hotspots. “A politician who doesn’t go into practice, although he can, is doing something wrong,” said the doctor. Lauterbach is certain that a general obligation to vaccinate would settle current conflicts. “Then there is no longer any reason to take to the streets.”