He was one of the faces of the corona pandemic: Now the virologist Mertens is withdrawing from the top of the Standing Vaccination Commission (STIKO). The committee is apparently facing a major personnel restructuring.
Thomas Mertens, one of the best-known Corona experts in Germany, is no longer chairman of the Standing Vaccination Commission (STIKO). The current working period of the independent advisory committee ended a few days ago; his successor has not yet been named. The virologist, who has been at the head of STIKO since 2017 and has been a member since 2004, announced early on that he would not be available for another term of office.
Mertens told the KNA news agency that the STIKO should be reorganized according to plans by Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD). The previously unlimited number of terms of office should be limited to three. This means that twelve members of the committee, which has a maximum of 18 people, may have to resign in February.
Renovation planned
A ministry spokesman confirmed to the “Augsburger Allgemeine Zeitung” that a new appointment for STIKO was currently being prepared by the Ministry of Health. “The current appointment period expires in February 2024.” A term of office for volunteer STIKO members usually lasts three years. It was last extended by one year during the corona pandemic.
The Ministry of Health praised the commission’s work so far: It has “achieved top performance, particularly in the context of the pandemic. It works at a high level nationally and internationally,” said a spokesman for the newspaper.
Hostility from Corona deniers
Mertens told the KNA that he had thought about resigning from his office several times during the pandemic – along the lines of “how stupid do you have to be to put up with so much trouble without paying for it?” He received hundreds of ugly emails and was insulted while shopping or on the street. “I was shocked by how much ignorance, stupidity and evil was thrown at me during that time.”
Despite all the prophecies of doom, Germany has mastered the pandemic quite successfully, said Mertens. This was also due to the comparatively high number of hospitals and intensive care beds.
Also made mistakes
The doctor viewed the contact bans for children and seniors as particularly problematic for society. In Mertens’ opinion, the biggest problem was communication during the pandemic. He found many politicians to be not particularly helpful. “The argument was not based on scientific data. It was about demonstrating political willingness to act, sharpening one’s own profile or developing political pressure.”
Decisions were sometimes made that were difficult to bear – “for example, when children were initially required to be vaccinated quickly, but at the same time it was said that the federal government would not assume any liability.”