Worry about fourth corona wave: only vaccinated in the restaurant?

In a fourth wave, unvaccinated people have to be prepared for restrictions: Chancellery Minister Braun believes it is conceivable that only those who have been vaccinated are then allowed to go to restaurants. From Baden-Württemberg it is said: “Vaccination is a civic duty.”

As the number of infections continues to rise, the discussion about how to get more people to vaccinate is gaining momentum. It is also about possible restrictions for unvaccinated people, as Chancellery Minister Helge Braun made clear in an interview with “Bild am Sonntag”.

There are two arguments in favor of the vaccination, said the CDU politician. The vaccination protects 90 percent from severe corona disease. “And: those who have been vaccinated will definitely have more freedom than those who have not been vaccinated.”

As long as the vaccines against the Delta variant help so well, a classic lockdown is no longer necessary, said Braun. But if Germany got a high fourth wave, it would not be without effects. “In the event of a high infection rate despite test concepts, unvaccinated people would have to reduce their contacts,” he explained.

Cinema, stadium, restaurant – in case of doubt only with vaccination

“This can also mean that certain offers such as restaurant, cinema and stadium visits would no longer be possible even for those who have not been vaccinated because the residual risk is too high.”

When asked whether this would be legally permissible, Braun replied with a “yes”. “The state has a duty to protect the health of its citizens,” he said. “This includes a health system that does not have to postpone cancer and joint operations again in winter to treat corona patients. And that includes protecting those who are not vaccinated.”

Braun: Up to 100,000 new infections daily in September

According to the report, Braun said that he also feared an increase in the incidence in Germany by the federal election on September 26 to 850 and thus 100,000 new infections daily.

The Chancellery Minister added that this would cause sickness rates to reach historic highs. This would mean that all unvaccinated contact persons of the infected would have to be in quarantine. “The effects on the work processes in the companies would be massive. We are already seeing that in Great Britain,” said Braun. So many people had recently been quarantined there because of contact with infected people that there were delivery bottlenecks – for example in the food sector – or shops had to be closed due to a lack of staff.

Appeal to parents, teachers, caretakers, bus drivers

On the subject of starting school after the summer vacation, the Chancellery Minister said: If the incidence increases as expected, it will also be very difficult to keep the infections out of the schools. “That’s why it’s very clear to me: Parents, teachers, caretakers and school bus drivers have to get vaccinated. If these groups are all vaccinated, the risk for the children is lower.”

Vaccination against the coronavirus has not yet been approved for younger children; the Standing Vaccination Commission (STIKO) does not currently have a recommendation for older children. The STIKO only recommends vaccinations for previously ill children from the age of twelve.

Braun also said that the mask requirement in public buses and trains and in school lessons must consistently apply where distance and ventilation are insufficient.

“I cannot rule out compulsory vaccination forever”

The Prime Minister of Baden-Württemberg, Winfried Kretschmann, also took part in the vaccination debate – and did not rule out compulsory vaccination in certain areas in the long term. “We are not planning any compulsory vaccination. I cannot rule out compulsory vaccination for all times,” said the Green politician of the dpa news agency. “It is possible that there will be variants that make this necessary.”

It could well be “that at some point we will only allow certain areas and activities for vaccinated people”. He cited measles as an example: “There is also compulsory vaccination for daycare centers because measles is highly contagious.” The pandemic will not be brought to its knees without vaccinations.

Pessimistic view of autumn and winter

Kretschmann has been warning of a fourth wave for a long time and is rather pessimistic about autumn and winter. In his opinion, the virus could come back just as dangerously as it did last autumn, when the number of infections suddenly rose dramatically. “We continue to drive on sight. The virus mutations have thwarted our plans twice,” he said. “If variants occur against which the vaccine is no longer as effective – we are immediately in a different situation.”

Kretschmann appealed to people to get vaccinated. “In essence, one can say: Vaccination is a civic duty. There is a lot at stake. Every person who thinks responsibly should just do that.” The side effects of Covid are much worse than those of the vaccines could ever be. Little is known about the long-term consequences of a virus infection. People would have to radically put aside their concerns about vaccination.

Merkel: Gaining confidence in the vaccination

The federal government had made it clear several times that it did not seek to be vaccinated. When corresponding plans for employees in clinics and nursing homes in France became known, Chancellor Angela Merkel declared: “We do not intend to follow the path proposed by France. We have said there will be no compulsory vaccination.” Merkel said that you could gain trust by advertising the vaccination.

FDP: Link election preparation with vaccination advertising

In order to win more people for vaccination, the FDP wants to include the preparations for the federal election. “In the next few weeks, around 60 million eligible voters will be written to informing them of the election on September 26, 2021 and the previous postal vote,” said the domestic political spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group, Konstantin Kuhle, to the newspapers of the Funke media group .

“The state should use this contact to invite the corona vaccination as well as to inform about the advantages of a vaccination and the nearest vaccination center.” In some communities, drive-in vaccinations are now taking place without registrations, he told the newspapers. “This possibility could also be pointed out in connection with the election notification.” It takes creativity and imagination to expand the vaccination campaign, said Kuhle.

Therefore, health insurance companies should “integrate the corona vaccination across the board into their bonus and premium models and proactively point out these advantages to the insured”.