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Unvaccinated on the edge of the Alps: Why the south of Bavaria has a lower vaccination rate

2021-11-21T07:46:03.147Z


In the south of Bavaria, the corona incidence is high, but the vaccination rate is low. But why? There are several assumptions - besides, vaccination skepticism has a certain tradition there.


In the south of Bavaria, the corona incidence is high, but the vaccination rate is low.

But why?

There are several assumptions - besides, vaccination skepticism has a certain tradition there.

Munich - record numbers of new infections, full clinics and more restrictions - nevertheless, many people in southern Bavaria cannot be vaccinated against corona.

There are some guesses as to the reasons, but hardly any data.

However, vaccination skepticism has a certain tradition on the edge of the Alps.

Violet and pink alert: Giga hotspots are in Bavaria

The south of Bavaria is glowing in bright pink and purple on the corona overview map of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) these days.

As of Sunday (November 21), the incidence is nine circles above the 1000. The values ​​of the other municipalities on the edge of the Alps were sometimes well above 500. From the point of view of the state government, this is mainly due to the fact that significantly fewer people there have been vaccinated against Corona so far than in the north of the Free State and the Republic.

But why is that?

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The RKI warning card lights up purple (incidence over 1000) and pink (incidence over 500) in Bavaria

© Screenshot RKI

(By the way: Our Bavaria newsletter informs you about all the important stories from the Free State. Register here.)

Corona vaccination skepticism in southern Bavaria - there are several assumptions

Conspiracy myths

: Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) recently named in an interview with

Bild Live,

among other things, “higher numbers of lateral thinkers and Reich citizens” as the cause. The religious scholar Michael Blume supports this thesis: "A unique tradition of detailed, linguistic autonomy has developed in the Alpine region," says the anti-Semitism officer of the state of Baden-Württemberg. “In positive terms, this means a particularly strong commitment to democracy and federalism. Unfortunately, however, it always tips over into conspiracy myths and anti-Semitism. "



Alternative medicine:

To automatically locate those who refuse to vaccinate on the right-wing political level would, however, be too short-sighted.

"Among the vaccine opponents, 31 percent belong to the liberal-intellectual milieu," says an analysis of social networks by the management consultancy Komm.Passion.

In addition to a “jammer cluster with Russian influences” and users close to the AfD, there is also a “social-ecological-esoteric cluster” among those who oppose the vaccination.

One explanation for the low vaccination rates on the edge of the Alps is therefore the proximity to alternative medicine.

"The skeptical milieu is often well-off, well-educated and open to alternative medical treatment methods," said a spokeswoman for the Bavarian Ministry of Health.

Low vaccination rates in southern Bavaria - are skeptical doctors a reason?

Skeptical doctors:

A study from 2012 also suggests that there is greater vaccination skepticism not only among patients in the south of the Free State - but also among general practitioners. In a survey of general practitioners and paediatricians, the study's lead author, Martin Weigel, found a connection between low vaccination rates and the attitudes of doctors towards vaccinations. These opinions were most negative in southern Bavaria, where the vaccination rate against measles and


meningococci was also remarkably low. “The question is: Do those unwilling to vaccinate look for a doctor who is more critical of the vaccination, or the other way around?” Says Weigel. He could not provide an answer.



Criticism of the state:

For some, denying a vaccination is a sign of distrust of the state.

"The people in the Alpine region were and are particularly critical of government authorities," continues the religious scholar Blume.

This is reinforced by the fact that parties like the AfD have discovered vaccination as a protest topic for themselves, says the senior professor of sociology at the University of Leipzig, Andreas Diekmann.

“What is cause and effect there is of course the question.

It is generally a deficiency that there is not enough hard data on this in Germany. "

Low vaccination rate in southern Bavaria - vaccination skepticism is a tradition in the Alpine region

History:

One thing is certain, the skepticism about vaccinations has a certain tradition in the Alpine region. As early as the immunization against smallpox in the 19th century, there was “quite a massive opposition to vaccination” in rural regions in Bavaria, says the Heidelberg medical historian Bärbel-Jutta Hess. The reasons for this were therefore as vague as they are today: some interpreted the scar from the smallpox vaccination as a “sign of the devil” and saw diseases as a “God-given fate”. Other people were afraid for good reason: because the vaccination syringes weren't cleaned properly at first, they passed syphilis on to children at times without being recognized.

According to Hess, the Bavarian government took drastic measures at the time: “In one case, the parents were even taken into custody so that the child could be vaccinated during this time.” A good 200 years later, compulsory vaccination seems a long way off.

Instead, politics is relying on more and more restrictions on the unvaccinated - and persuasion.

Vaccination appeal: "We all want to avoid a lockdown, we want open schools"

The district administrators in southern Bavaria called again for vaccinations in view of the dramatic corona situation.

"We all want to avoid a lockdown, we want open schools," said Oberallgäu district administrator Indra Baier-Müller (Free Voters).

"We can only do that if as many people as possible can be vaccinated and boosted and we avoid contacts in the next few weeks wherever possible." The vaccination rate there was recently around 60 percent, around 6 percentage points below the already low average for Bavaria in a nationwide comparison.



District Administrator Michael Fahmüller (CSU) announced that the vaccination center in the Lower Bavarian district of Rottal-Inn should run "at full load" again five days a week from Monday.

At the beginning of November, a vaccination rate of just 53.1 percent was reported there.

Biontech: When does the booster vaccination make sense?

Bavaria: Demand for corona vaccinations is increasing for booster vaccinations

Now there is a small ray of hope: Several districts in southern Bavaria recently reported that the demand for vaccinations was rising again.

In the Upper Bavarian district of Berchtesgadener Land, with a vaccination quota of around 56 percent recently, the demand was "very much increased in a weekly comparison," said a spokeswoman.

However, it was mostly booster vaccinations - not vaccinators.

(came / dpa)

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2021-11-21

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