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Corona as "Chernobyl moment": Epidemiologist calls for rethinking - FDP makes a promise

2021-12-31T05:29:46.320Z


Corona as "Chernobyl moment": Epidemiologist calls for rethinking - FDP makes a promise Created: 12/31/2021, 06:21 AM From: Florian Naumann How can the German corona policy get better? Andrew Ullmann (FDP, left) and Hajo Zeeb exchange arguments. © imago / picture-alliance / M. Litzka Corona year three is approaching. For IPPEN.MEDIA, epidemiologist Hajo Zeeb describes a package of measures to


Corona as "Chernobyl moment": Epidemiologist calls for rethinking - FDP makes a promise

Created: 12/31/2021, 06:21 AM

From: Florian Naumann

How can the German corona policy get better?

Andrew Ullmann (FDP, left) and Hajo Zeeb exchange arguments.

© imago / picture-alliance / M.

Litzka

Corona year three is approaching.

For IPPEN.MEDIA, epidemiologist Hajo Zeeb describes a package of measures to end the lockdown and improve preparation.

The FDP seems to have a different opinion on one point.

Berlin / Bremen - Germany is entering a challenging third Corona year * - now under new political leadership.

Even a federal government cannot simply end the pandemic.

But it must probably improve the repeatedly criticized management of the crisis, ideally even better prepare Germany for future disasters.

At least that is the hope of many people in the country.

But how can that work?

Corona: Lockdowns and "unsustainable" loads - epidemiologist sees many grievances, the traffic light answers

Hajo Zeeb, expert for evaluation and prevention at the Leibniz Institute

for prevention research and epidemiology, has a whole package of suggestions in this regard: In his guest

post

for

IPPEN.MEDIA

he attests that

the hospitals are not "

tolerable

" permanent stress - and calls for new, quickly activated facilities, a different approach to people and helpers on site and also a different kind of communication between politics and science. Despite all the criticism - and the urgent reference to Covid as a “Chernobyl” moment - Zeeb also has a positive vision ready: A way out of the change from “restricted everyday life and lockdown”.

The addressee is of course the traffic light coalition in Berlin *.

In our series on the most important political challenges of 2020, Andrew Ullmann, health expert for the FDP * parliamentary group, answers Zeeb's suggestions.

“There is no question that we cannot go back to 'business as usual'”, he admits - and makes a clear promise by which the SPD *, Greens * and Liberals will have to be measured.

There is also a clear difference to Zeeb's demands: It's about the patent rights for corona vaccinations.

Corona: epidemiologist warns of new pandemic problems in Germany - package of measures necessary?

Corona as a "Chernobyl moment": Many failures - expert Zeeb calls for a package of measures for the traffic light

In May 2021, the Lancet published a report by the Independent Panels for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, in which the COVID-19 pandemic is described as the Chernobyl moment of the 21st century. An urgent transformation of health systems is called for in order to spare the world a series of catastrophes. It is clear that the constant strain on the most costly facilities in our health system, the intensive care units and the hospitals as a whole, is unsustainable.



In this respect, ways must first be found to keep the crisis out of the hospitals by decisively strengthening the most important functions of primary health care, prevention and health promotion. A high capacity for testing and contact tracing as well as for fast and massive vaccination must be available and activated at any time. Medical vaccination practices, vaccination centers and other vaccination providers, especially multi-professional mobile vaccination teams with knowledge of local conditions, will be needed in 2022 and beyond.



This upstream system is also extremely important in building trust and working with local communities that are making pandemic control and building health and resilience their own business.

This has not yet been done sufficiently, although there is a lot of willingness and commitment.

After two years, it is urgently time to better understand the global and lasting dimensions of the corona crisis and to design the measures and structures not just for a current wave, but to be sustainable.

Hajo Zeeb, Prevention and Evaluation Department at the Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology

Second, it is about an efficient public health service. The RKI performs crucial work at a central point, but the local health authorities need more support and strong alliances in a timely manner in order to effectively contain the spread of new corona waves with the essential functions of case detection and isolation as well as contact tracking. It is questionable whether the shortage of skilled workers for maximum patient care can be successfully reduced in the near future - as early as 2022. But it remains one of the most pressing problems at this highest level of a pandemic-proof, functioning health system.

In science and policy communication, the establishment of the Expert Council has to prove itself quickly - from my point of view, it came much too late as an official body. After two years, it is also urgently time to better understand the global and lasting dimensions of the corona crisis and to design the measures and structures not only for a current wave, but to be sustainable. Comprehensive digitization of all information channels, significantly better coordinated health communication and much more decisive global cooperation in vaccinating and strengthening health systems are urgent tasks. A decisive step, which is even supported by the USA - but so far not by Germany - would be the temporary suspension of patent rights.

New variants, inadequate everyday protection against infection and vaccination rates that are too low make the sequence of less restricted everyday life and lockdowns currently appear inevitable.

A high level of immunity in the population - better through vaccination than as a result of illness - is the key to the transition to endemic disease, in which we can get by without a lockdown, but - if necessary - with targeted local measures.

Corona in Germany: FDP promises "progress" - but excludes patent claim

"Traffic light has this task": FDP expert Ullmann makes a pandemic promise

The report of the “Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response” rightly speaks of the fact that Covid-19 must be the Chernobyl moment of the 21st century. The pandemic has shown us the vulnerability of our health systems around the world. There is no question that we cannot go back to business as usual. We must learn from the evidence and decisively address issues that have emerged openly during the pandemic.

We as the traffic light coalition face this task. First of all, we reorganized the crisis management. A scientific pandemic council and a joint crisis team of the federal government were set up for the acute phase of the pandemic. In this way, we are placing scientific advice on a broader basis and improving national coordination in order to implement necessary protective measures and promote comprehensive vaccination protection. We must join forces to relieve the hospitals. Our central approach here is to strengthen primary health care, prevention and health promotion.

In addition, we have made it our task to permanently strengthen the public health service (ÖGD) and to reorganize it in cooperation with the federal states and municipalities.

The pandemic has made the important role of the health authorities all too clear.

Even if we are devoting ourselves to the fight against the pandemic with all our might, we do not forget to make structures sustainable and crisis-proof - in Germany and worldwide.

Andrew Ullmann, infectiologist and health expert in the FDP parliamentary group

We urgently need to close the personnel and digital gaps there. The RKI is also being strengthened. In addition, a new Federal Institute for Public Health will be created at the Federal Ministry of Health. With the institute we ensure better networking of the ÖGD and urgently needed improved health communication by locating the Federal Center for Health Education there. In doing so, we address the weaknesses in health education and health literacy and give public health more weight. We also pursue the “One Health” approach for greater resilience to potential new pandemics.

The global dimension needs to be brought to the fore even more. Because the corona pandemic will only be over when it has been brought under control worldwide. We are therefore strengthening the COVID-19 vaccination campaign COVAX. It is our global exit strategy from the crisis *. At the same time, we support voluntary production partnerships and the transfer of know-how in order to expand production capacities for drugs and vaccines worldwide. We are thus making a lasting contribution to the international debates about fair vaccine supply.

Even if we are devoting ourselves to the fight against the pandemic with all our might, we do not forget to make structures sustainable and crisis-proof - in Germany and worldwide.

We are making our healthcare system strong, improving working conditions for the healthcare professions and nurses, and promoting prevention, innovation and digitization.

We live up to our global responsibility by advocating good health care worldwide and strengthening WHO through a courageous reform process.

The current crisis must be seen as an opportunity for change and progress.

We will by no means let them slip away unused.

This article is part two of a three-part 

IPPEN.MEDIA

series on some of the great challenges for the new traffic light coalition in 2022. Part one brought migration expert Gerald Knaus and SPD MP Lars Castellucci into dialogue - Knaus called for an international one among other things Coalition for Refugee Admission and European Sea Rescue Centers.

In part two, climate impact researcher Michael Pahle accused the traffic light of backing down on a flimsy pretext, and the Green politician Ingrid Nestle justified the procedure.

(

fn

) *

Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.

IPPEN.MEDIA series at the start of the first traffic light calendar year: The participants in the Corona Dialog

Prof. Dr.

Hajo Zeeb

has headed the Prevention and Evaluation Department at the Leibniz Institute since 2010

for prevention research and epidemiology.

The epidemiologist previously worked at the World Health Organization in Geneva, among others.

Prof. Dr.

Andrew Ullmann

has been a member of the Bundestag for the FDP since 2017 and is a member of the health committee.

The infectiologist is also a specialist in internal medicine and a professor at the University of Würzburg.

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2021-12-31

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