When the summit participant speaks about corona numbers, Lanz intervenes excitedly - "Middle of the month?"

Created: 01/07/2022, 05:28 AM

At "Markus Lanz", Saarland's Prime Minister Tobias Hans spoke about the data situation in the corona pandemic.

© Screenshot / ZDF

"Markus Lanz" under control of the coronavirus and the Omikron variant: The ZDF Talk meanders between cohort tests, general compulsory vaccinations and a vaccination register.

Hamburg - “Markus Lanz” will discuss the Corona crisis with his guests on Wednesday evening.

Immunologist Prof. Carsten Watzl speaks right at the beginning that the numbers about the infection rate are not always clear.

Talk host Markus Lanz therefore asks the health policy spokeswoman for the FDP, Christine Aschenberg-Dugnus: "On what basis do we actually make decisions that have far-reaching consequences for many, many people?"

Getting a better view of the coronavirus - FDP politician Aschenberg-Dugnus at "Markus Lanz": "It's not rocket science"

“Yes, you are absolutely right,” replies Aschenberg-Dugnus, “we always criticize that. That is why we also said that we have to now - you can't do that overnight - but we now have to deal with the failures of the inadequate digitization of recent years relatively quickly so that certain processes happen faster. ”She recommends testing cohorts as requested by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI).

Cohort tests are a suitable means to better counteract the spread of the omicron variant and to be able to make predictions.

“We know that a wave is coming our way”, says Aschenberg-Dugnus, but Lanz interrupts: “We believe that a wave is coming our way.

We don't know anything, ”he claims.

“We would know more precisely,” says Aschenberg-Dugnus, “if we proceeded like this, and we will soon implement it.

It's not rocket science. "

Omikron variant on the advance: Markus Lanz questions the data basis of the MPK

Immunologist Watzl also contradicts Lanz: “We already know that Omikron will not behave any differently here than in neighboring countries. Omikron will multiply here too. ”Looking at the steep infection curves in those other countries, he said:“ That’s really ahead of us in the next few weeks. ”That’s not enough for moderator Lanz, he asks Saarland’s Prime Minister Tobias Hans (CDU) : “The day after tomorrow you have an MPK, Prime Minister's Conference. On the basis of which numbers will you make decisions there? How old are these numbers that you are handling? "

Hans regrets that experience shows that the holiday figures are not very reliable and says: "That's why you have to live with the fact that probably no figures that we can really trust will appear before the middle of the month." "Middle of the month?" Lanz repeats in an excited voice.

“You have to assume that”, Hans replies soberly.

Hans believes it was a mistake to let the epidemic emergency of national proportions run out, even if he himself supported it in the summer: “Of course it was wrong from today's point of view.

But from the point of view of the time, of course, you couldn't foresee that.

In December one should have known that Omikron was coming and therefore had to provide the full instrument case. "

“Markus Lanz” - these were his guests on January 5th

• Tobias Hans (CDU) - politician

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  Christine Aschenberg-Dugnus (FDP) - politician

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  Nadine Lindner - journalist

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  Prof. Carsten Watzl - immunologist

“But you could have spoken out about the epidemic situation in Saarland in December,” interjects Aschenberg-Dugnus. “We have,” replies Hans. "Do you have? Good. Then you also had the instruments, ”replies Aschenberg-Dugnus. Hans: “Yes, we actually had enough instruments for our state. But I have already seen that in Thuringia, for example, these instruments did not really exist. ”“ Yes, but the federal state, several people did that - you can declare an epidemic emergency in your state. Yes, there is this possibility. Then the question is: will it be done or will it not be done? In this respect, this discussion is a bit cross. ”“ Yes, that's right, ”Hans finally adds, but sticks:“ It's a national epidemic emergency,this must also be tackled nationally. "

Is there a vaccination register coming?

FDP politician Aschenberg-Dugnus and CDU politician Hans do not agree

“What we need,” says host Lanz, “is a vaccination register.

We need to know who is vaccinated in this country and who is not.

You as the FDP, who always uphold the monstrance of freedom and data protection and so on - are you in favor of such a vaccination register: yes or no? ”“ I cannot answer that with yes or no, ”says Aschenberg-Dugnus,“ because they The question from a vaccination register is: What do I want to do with it?

I only want to know: Has Mr. Lanz been vaccinated?

Are you vaccinated, by name and so on.

Or do I want to store data from it, for example for science, for research?

We have a cancer registry, which is going very well - the data is anonymized.

Totally for that, I find it very important. "

“The anonymized vaccination register will not help us at all,” says Tobias Hans, “in asserting the question: How do we get data clarity about vaccinated and unvaccinated people in connection with diseases? It will not help us to enforce a possible vaccination requirement. That has to be clear to you. ”He also speaks out in favor of a vaccination register, but not anonymously:“ With real names, ”he says.

Compulsory vaccination? "Markus Lanz" round looks at the internal conflict of the FDP

Because there are internal quarrels within the FDP over the question of a general vaccination requirement for adults, led by Wolfgang Kubicki (FDP) and supported by Aschenberg-Dugnus, the latter takes a position from “Markus Lanz”: “I am of the firm belief, and there I expressly disagree with you and I am one with the Ethics Council, which has precisely described it: We have just not exhausted all the options. ”Aschenberg-Dugnus explains,“ She would like to increase the willingness to vaccinate in another way. That is very important to me. "

"But now we're just realizing that we're not getting anywhere," says Tobias Hans. He sees all possibilities exhausted and would like more decisive action from the federal government on the question of a general vaccination requirement, otherwise the debate would be talked to death. Aschenberg-Dugnus is upset: “What kind of understanding of democracy is that?” Debates have to be held and positions negotiated before a decision can be reached, explains Aschenberg-Dugnus.

In contrast to a general vaccination obligation, she could "very well imagine" compulsory vaccination for people over the age of 60.

"That is really the question of a federal government to present it so that you can vote on it," says Hans.

“That will happen,” says Aschenberg-Dugnus and adds: “I can say very clearly: If our proposal does not get a majority, then it is democracy.

Then of course I accept what was decided democratically. "

"Markus Lanz" - the conclusion of the show

“Markus Lanz” will discuss the coronavirus and its political consequences with the politician Christine Aschenberg-Dugnus (FDP), the politician Tobias Hans (CDU), the journalist Nadine Lindner and the immunologist Prof. Carsten Watzl on Wednesday evening.

Controversies hardly arise in the discussion, even if talk show host Markus Lanz tries hard to lure his political guests out of the reserve.

At least some hope is emerging: Immunologist Watzl explains that the omicron variant could be the way out of the pandemic - provided Germany manages to close its vaccination gap.