Coronavirus: entrepreneur from Lübeck injects vaccine himself - 73-year-old now apparently immune 

Corona vaccine: Entrepreneur Winfried Stöcker is said to have injected himself with an antigen and is now immune to the corona virus.

• The entrepreneur Winfried Stöcker voluntarily tested a corona vaccine on himself .
• According to a FAZ report, the 73-year-old should now be immune to the pathogen Sars-CoV-2.
• Stöcker wants to immunize three quarters of the population with the antigen injections.
• Here you will find the basic facts about the corona virus * and the corona news from Germany. We also offer you the current number of cases in Germany * on a map. The following recommendations for Corona protective measures * are currently available.
  

Lübeck - While research is underway all over the world for a vaccine to combat the coronavirus pandemic *, a businessman from Lübeck in Schleswig-Holstein successfully tested a vaccine * on his own body together with scientists .

Corona vaccine: German entrepreneur with successful self-experiment

Researchers * around the world are currently looking for a comprehensive solution for the global spread of the corona virus . However, it could take months before a suitable vaccine comes onto the market. According to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the entrepreneur Winfried Stöcker is said to  have started testing self-developed vaccines on himself at the end of March . On March 26, April 2 and most recently on April 14, he is said to have injected himself with the product. According to the FAZ report, the founder of the laboratory diagnostics company Euroimmun lived up to his company name.

The sprayed agent was apparently the antigen S1 of the pathogen Sars-CoV-2, which was produced by genetic engineering in the laboratory . A component of the coronavirus * that is not infectious was also used to produce the antigen . "The immunization was therefore harmless , there was no risk of infection with the corona virus, neither for me nor for my family and colleagues," said Stöcker of the  FAZ . 

Winfried Stöcker, entrepreneur in # Lübeck and founder of the laboratory diagnostics company @EUROIMMUN, injects himself an active ingredient against the #Coronavirus https://t.co/22yUvCnHoU pic.twitter.com/gjZW5J0yP2

Corona vaccine self-experiment by Stöcker: "Immunization attempt is" 

The entrepreneur told the picture that the antigen itself was not a breakthrough because it was already being tested, but not in humans . The 73-year-old changed that with his own experiment and injected the antigen in the thigh. However, the effects were not long in coming, because according to the FAZ the tests were still negative in mid-April. But a few days later the U-turn came.

According to an Elisa antibody test on April 22nd, immunoglobulin A and G were found, that is, antibodies that form a kind of protection against viruses and transmitters and thus make them safe . "The immunization attempt with Corona-Antigen S1 went well for me , " said Stöcker, who also had no side effects . "The fact that the antigen has the effect was predictable, but that it has no side effects is important information," he said to the picture .

The entrepreneur Winfried Stöcker injected a self-developed corona vaccine and then developed antibodies. Is that negligent - or a breakthrough, asks @thiemoheeg #fplus https://t.co/Ofs378eLam

Corona vaccine: Stöcker's daring plan - "Immunize three quarters of the population"

Stöcker sees his attempt as just the beginning of a large wave of immunity and formulated a daring goal : "In my view, three quarters of the population could be immunized with the target antigen S1 of the Sars-CoV-2 in the short term *." This may be within the next six months possible, according to the entrepreneur. Stöcker sees the problem in the search for a vaccine * in the long test phase of the active ingredient, but he assumes that hundreds of thousands will die in time.

However, an expert criticized the businessman's ideas and said in the FAZ that "if you want to inject something into healthy people, you need almost absolute certainty that nothing will go wrong". According to laboratory experts, reliable data for Stöcker's daring thesis are also missing.

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* Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen editorial network.

Meanwhile, an ex-government adviser warned of a second wave and expects infections to increase "in autumn or winter".