"My wish is a 90 percent vaccination quota"

Created: 12/26/2021 Updated: 12/26/2021, 1:39 PM

From: Peter Schiebel

Starnberg District Administrator Stefan Frey at the start of the vaccination campaign in the Starnberg district on December 27, 2020 in Krailling.

© Dagmar Rutt

Starnberg Merkur spoke to District Administrator Stefan Frey about the course of the vaccination campaign against the corona virus in the Starnberg district.

It was also about the subject of compulsory vaccination.

Mr. Frey, how have you experienced the vaccination campaign in the district so far?

With highs and lows.

At the beginning of the year we hardly had any vaccine.

I've gotten hundreds of emails from 80 year olds asking when it's finally their turn.

We bibbled week after week whether and how much vaccine we would get in the end.

The breakthrough was the 10,000 extra cans of Astrazeneca that the Free State made available to us in April.

That was a nice day when the delivery came.

In July we were finally able to draw on unlimited resources, but interest declined.

We vaccinated in the cinema, at the Kreissparkasse with an ice cream as a reward, on the steamer, where we only reached five people.

That was a huge effort with little interest.

The Free State then even recommended closing the vaccination centers.

Fortunately, in August in Gauting and Herrsching we only went into stand-by mode with reduced operations.

In Feldafing it was clarified with the Bundeswehr that we can restart operations if necessary.

So in autumn and now also in winter we had and still have the premises, but we had to laboriously rebuild the staff.

It was an up and down.

Couldn't that have been prevented?

I do believe that politicians have made some mistakes.

The force of the fourth wave was underestimated.

And in the federal election campaign, nobody wanted to tell the bitter truth or make unreasonable demands.

But there was also the fact that nobody knew who would be boosted and when.

And new knowledge and recommendations are constantly emerging from science, which of course have to be implemented quickly in practice.

Nevertheless, more than 100,000 people in the district received their first and second vaccinations, and the number of third vaccinations is approaching 60,000.

How satisfied are you?

I am already satisfied, even if of course I would like more.

We have a quota of around 74 percent for the first and second vaccination, and currently over 40 percent for the booster vaccinations.

My wish is 90 percent.

It's hard, but I'm sure we can achieve it.

As?

By vaccinating all age groups, including children from the age of five.

There is still room for improvement.

And by continuing to try to motivate people.

However, I believe that the last ten percent cannot be achieved.

These are hardcore anti-vaccine opponents.

That would only be possible through a compulsory vaccination.

You already spoke out in favor of this obligation a few weeks ago.

Has anything changed in your attitude?

No.

I am still in favor of compulsory vaccination, but for a general one, not just for certain professional groups.

For example, why should nurses and medical staff be treated differently from other people?

It doesn't make sense to me.

However, there are legal hurdles for a general vaccination requirement.

And enforcement is also difficult.

But of course it would increase the pressure again.

What are your thoughts on the future?

The Omikron variant can also be a challenge for our district.

But if we manage to further increase our vaccination quota, then we don't have to worry.

It is important to me that the strong medical profession and the motivated vaccination center continue to work hand in hand.

Interview: Peter Schiebel