"It's risky": Physician contradicts Lauterbach - and demands a mask requirement for everyone indoors

Created: 08/12/2022, 05:44

By: Patrick Mayer

In focus because of the corona rules for the fall: Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD).

© IMAGO / Political Moments

From autumn, Karl Lauterbach wants to differentiate between freshly vaccinated people and everyone else when it comes to wearing masks indoors.

An epidemiologist criticizes the Minister of Health's business game - and advises more.

Munich/Berlin – Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) wants to equip Germany with new corona rules for autumn and winter.

For those months in which the virus finds better conditions to spread.

Corona rules in Germany: Exception for newly vaccinated people when wearing a mask?

The focus is on wearing a mask.

According to the traffic light federal government made up of SPD, Greens and FDP, this should apply in airplanes and long-distance traffic as well as in hospitals and care facilities.

The new Infection Protection Act, which is to apply from October 1 (if the Bundestag agrees), also provides for an optional mask requirement in all publicly accessible interiors.

In the event of a tense corona situation, this should also apply in gastronomy or in the cinema, for example.

If the individual federal states decide to do so.

According to the draft law, however, those who were vaccinated against the virus less than three months ago could be exempted from wearing a mask indoors.

But: It is precisely this planned exception that sometimes causes heated discussions.

In the video: Corona autumn - Karl Lauterbach calls for masks to be worn indoors

“We welcome the fact that it should still be possible to wear masks indoors,” said the head of the German Hospital Society (DKG), Gerald Gass, of the

: “However, the exceptions for vaccinated people are completely impractical and therefore contradict the goal of good protection against infection. Lauterbach defended the planned corona rule for autumn on Tuesday (9 August) in an interview with the

topics : “The mask will be the rule.

In the beginning, very few will be freshly vaccinated.”

Corona mask requirement in Germany: Karl Lauterbach defends controversial rule

There was also criticism of how the mask requirement exception should be controlled at all.

The Rhinelander said in the daily

: "Here it is provided, for example, that you can immediately see on the Corona warning app from the color of the vaccination certificate whether it is a fresh vaccination or not." Medically, however, it is "absolutely" nonsensical, " that people should then be vaccinated every three months,” explained the 59-year-old.

Would the result be a mess?

It is noticeable that there are more and more advocates for a mask requirement indoors from politics and medicine.

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Allowing a newly boosted or vaccinated person to remove the mask is not helpful.

Epidemiologist Prof. Dr.

Timo Ulrichs, Acre University Berlin

He welcomes “that the subject of masks is gaining importance in the interior,” said the Bavarian Health Minister Klaus Holetschek (CSU) in an interview with the TV station SAT.1.

Now the epidemiologist Prof. Dr.

Timo Ulrichs from the “Akkon Hochschule Berlin” for a general obligation to wear masks indoors – regardless of how up-to-date the vaccination status is.

It is advisable to “want to inhibit the spread in autumn and winter” by making masks compulsory indoors, the doctor explained in an interview with n-tv.

In his opinion, on the other hand, it is difficult to bring vaccination protection and a mask requirement together.

“Allowing someone who has just been boosted or vaccinated to take off the mask is not helpful, because then it cannot be ruled out that you will still catch an infection,” said the scientist: “Even if the risk is greatly reduced with the vaccination to develop a Covid-19 disease.”

Physician and epidemiologist: Prof. Dr.

Timo Ulrichs from the Akkon University of Applied Sciences in Berlin.

© IMAGO / teutopress

Mask requirement exception for newly vaccinated: Corona rule by Karl Lauterbach causes discussions

Ulrichs explained to n-tv that newly vaccinated people still have a low risk of infection if they do not wear a mask.

The fact that people who are currently vaccinated cannot become infected is not correct, the Berlin doctor continued: “That was always the hope at the very beginning of the vaccination campaign.

Unfortunately, that didn't come true.

A clear distinction must be made between protection against infection and protection against disease.

Vaccination does the latter very well.

But unfortunately not complete protection against the infection.”

In his opinion, there is a risk “that the Omicron-specific vaccine cannot do this either.

At least not completely.

It is therefore risky to allow exceptions just because you want to give those who have been vaccinated and boosted an advantage," he said, criticizing Health Minister Lauterbach's plan.

Ulrichs advises: “Wearing a mask indoors is generally a good idea.

This prevents the virus from spreading further.”