Corona expert report is here - but many questions remain unanswered
Created: 07/02/2022 06:03
By: Max Müller, Fabian Hartmann
Where is the journey going with Corona?
Health Minister Karl Lauterbach with the experts in Berlin.
© Fabian Sommer/dpa
Epidemiologist Timo Ulrichs praises the new Corona expert report.
However, he accuses politicians of oversleeping important time.
Is Germany stumbling into the third Corona winter?
Berlin/Cologne – This paper was eagerly awaited: the Corona Expert Committee presented its report on Friday.
In it, 18 scientists, doctors and lawyers have evaluated the measures taken since the beginning of the pandemic.
The result: less clear than hoped.
On 165 pages, questions remain unanswered.
Because there is a lack of data for an evaluation of the measures.
Nevertheless, the political discussion is ongoing, there is a risk of new trouble in the traffic light coalition.
Corona report: "Results are covered by studies"
In an interview with Merkur.de from IPPEN.MEDIA, epidemiologist Klaus Stöhr had already criticized the lack of data.
Stöhr is the successor to virologist Christian Drosten on the expert committee.
Drosten left the panel after criticizing the compilation.
There would be a lack of epidemiological expertise.
Epidemiologist Timo Ulrichs from the University of Human Sciences in Berlin sees things differently.
“From a technical point of view, this is a well-done report.
The findings are covered by studies,” he said
from IPPEN.MEDIA to Merkur.de
.
Ulrichs shares the core criticism of the report, according to which data is missing.
“It is actually difficult to collect corona data in Germany.
This is due to the fairly strong restrictions that the Robert Koch Institute is subject to.
For example, personal data is taboo.
As a result, we are lagging behind quite a bit.
We don't know who is vaccinated.” Other countries are much more advanced, for example Israel.
"Data was processed very quickly there - only then can appropriate measures be taken at an early stage," said the health expert.
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There is also another reason for the German slowness: "The reports go through the health authorities of the countries, which work very differently," says Ulrichs.
This makes it difficult to bundle data centrally.
“Never were any figures delivered at the weekend.
Yes during the week, but sometimes only by fax.
Overall, the communication was not exactly up to date.”
Ulrichs would have liked the report to make more drastic demands.
“It was clear even before the report that masks are important.
What is missing is the demand to now reintroduce a mask requirement indoors.” The summer wave is just building up.
"If politicians wait too long, we'll lag behind again.
We made the same mistake the last two summers.
Unfortunately, the Bundestag is now going on its summer break.
So we sleep through the most important time to finally act early,” said Ulrichs.
Corona report: FDP Vice Kubicki calls for RKI boss Wieler to be kicked out
In Berlin, the political reactions to the report varied: The sports policy spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group, Philipp Hartewig, spoke of “painful realizations” with regard to school closures and popular sport.
"The sports facility closures were wrong," said Hartewig
Merkur.de from IPPEN.MEDIA
.
His party friend, FDP Vice Wolfgang Kubicki,
even called for the expulsion of RKI boss Lothar Wieler in the
world .
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The Greens were much more cautious.
"The report provides additional information, but by no means a conclusive assessment of the effect of corona protection measures," said Green health expert Janosch Dahmen.
"The absence of evidence of effectiveness is no evidence of the absence of effectiveness," said the member of the Bundestag.
Clear criticism comes from the Left Party - especially with a view to the FDP, which first wanted to wait for the expert report before deciding on further steps in the fight against the virus in the coalition.
"For the third time, a government has the opportunity to prepare the country for a pandemic winter, and right now it looks as if the federal government will fail for the third time," says Jan Korte, First Parliamentary Secretary of the Left Party in the Bundestag.
"The petty waiting of the FDP for this - with an announcement - little meaningful report is just as pathetic as the low ambitions of the Minister of Health to fundamentally change something in our health system," said Korte.
Corona report: patient advocate Eugen Brysch calls for “reliable data”
Criticism does not only come from the opposition - patient advocate Eugen Brysch is also harsh on the previous Corona policy.
"With their inadequate test strategy, the federal and state governments are failing across the board," said Brysch
Merkur.de from IPPEN.MEDIA
.
The patient advocate demands that people in need of care in particular should be better protected.
"It's good that the expert report calls for regular tests in geriatric care," says Brysch.
The concentration of regular PCR tests on those in need of care is overdue for the fall.
"Preventive tests are the chance to stop the virus before it reaches those in need," said Brysch.
The patient advocate expects Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) to offer everyone in need of care a free immune status check by September.
"Without reliable data, the corona strategy will remain just reading coffee grounds," says Brysch.
After all, there should be agreement between the government, opposition and science.
