"Uncontrolled spread to all parts of the population": German virologists are sounding the alarm

In the fight against the coronavirus, the keyword “herd immunity” comes up again and again.

German virologists have commented on the rising number of infections - and warn against it.

Heidelberg - The number of

with the coronavirus in Baden-Württemberg (BW24 * reported) is increasing worryingly.

More than 60,000 people in

are now

infected

with

.

More and more regions in the southwest are being declared

areas.

The Esslingen district was the first to become a corona hotspot. *

In the meantime, not only Stuttgart is considered a risk area. * All of

approaching the critical value of 50

with the

per 100,000 inhabitants in the past seven days.

This is why the highest warning level with new restrictions applies in Baden-Württemberg. * This includes, for example, a

in public areas such as pedestrian zones - regardless of whether the

 on site is above the critical value.

In view of the exponential growth in

, Winfried Kretschmann even threatened a lockdown ultimatum. * For some

, however, the

are still too strict.

Instead, they aim at

and want to enable groups that are not at risk to lead a completely normal life again.

German

the Society for Virology (GfV) in

consider this a dangerous idea - and sound the alarm.

Herd immunity instead of corona restrictions: researchers from the USA and Great Britain with dangerous demands

Christian Drosten

from the

is

among the

who

commented

on the

strategy

.

The reason for the statement is the so-called Great Barrington Declaration, in which three researchers from the

and

criticize

the

against the

.

“The most empathic approach, which weighs the risks and benefits of achieving

, is to allow those who have minimal risk of death to live normal lives so that they

can build

immunity to the

through natural

while those who are those most at risk will be better protected, ”reads the Great Barrington Declaration.

Herd immunity aims to ensure that a large part of the population

falls ill

with

and thus gains immunity, which

would slow down the

spread of the

.

+

Herd immunity instead of a face mask: German virologists warn against dropping the current corona measures (symbol image).

© Weronika Peneshko / dpa

In principle, the

has nothing against proposals to combat the

that deviate from the current strategy.

"We respect divergent attitudes represented by individual colleagues in the media and social networks, since controversial discourses are an essential feature of both science and democracy," write the

.

In the southwest, too, the

constantly being scrutinized.

Most recently, the Ministry of Science ordered an examination of the corona measures in Baden-Württemberg. * The

nevertheless decidedly

rejects the

approach

- and gives several reasons for this.

German virologists are warning of the goal of herd immunity and are sticking to the current corona strategy

 "With concern that we note that once again the voices grow stronger, which as a strategy for combating pandemic on the natural

of large populations with the aim of

set" write the

of

.

Accordingly, an uncontrolled infection with the

lead to an escalating increase in deaths.

Virologists fear that if the number of

increases, control over the infection process will be lost - up to overloading the

.

Opinion of the Society for Virology

"We are concerned to note that the voices are growing again who are focusing on the natural contamination of large parts of the population with the aim of herd immunity as a strategy for fighting pandemics."

- Christian Drosten (@c_drosten) October 19, 2020

In addition, the

the

too homogeneously

according to the

.

In addition to older people, there are other risk groups, some of which are even still undetected - and therefore cannot be

shielded

against the

virus at all.

The

names, among other things, obesity, diabetes and cancer as diseases that

favor

a severe course of

.

Doubts about immunity: Virologists fear a horror scenario if the infection is uncontrolled

The

of

keep it currently does for unreasonable to heavily on the

after recovering from

with the

to set.

How long immunity to

lasts and whether a less symptomatic infection makes you immune to the coronavirus has not yet been reliably proven.

The

emphasized in its opinion that it the enormous burden of the current to

are aware for the population.

Nevertheless, the

convinced "that the damage that

threatens

us

directly but also indirectly

in the event of an uncontrolled

this burden many times over and can lead to a humanitarian and economic catastrophe."

Fight against the coronavirus: German virologists rely on current measures and a vaccine

In their conclusion, the

resolutely oppose the uncontrolled

with the aim of

.

The

"considers striving for herd immunity without

to be unethical as well as medically, socially and thus also economically high-risk."

The authors of the

see it differently

.

According to researchers from the

and

,

“

can be

supported

by a

, but is not dependent on it.” For them, the negative consequences of the

proportion to their effects.

"Maintaining these

until a

is available will cause irreparable harm, disproportionately affecting the underprivileged," the three researchers said in their statement.

Baden-Württemberg, however, expects a corona vaccination at the end of 2020 and is making intensive preparations. * The state government wants to procure syringes and needles for several million euros by then.

(* BW24

)

List of rubric lists: © picture alliance / Christophe Gateau / dpa