Find clear words Dr.
Stefan Günther, head of the health department in Weilheim, and his deputy Petra Vogl: Lauterbach had engaged in "politically motivated polemics" and there was "very clearly" an exclusion of the unvaccinated.
It's been three years since the coronavirus turned the world upside down. How did the initial phase of the pandemic go at the health department in Weilheim?
Günther:
I still remember the beginnings well.
At the end of January 2020, the first official corona case was reported in Germany.
The person came from the Starnberg region, seven or eight contact persons lived in our district.
Our employees phoned the affected contact persons on a daily basis.
Everyone was very worried, we knew very little about the disease at the time.
There was a crisis team meeting with the hospital GmbH to set up an isolation ward within 24 hours.
That also worked.
Luckily none of the contacts fell ill.
The first corona case in the district then occurred on March 5th.
Vogl:
I only came to the health department in Weilheim in spring 2021 and therefore did not experience the early days in the house.
In the spring of 2020, did you have any idea what could be in store for us in the coming years?
Günther:
No, that was inconceivable at all.
Many cases were reported relatively quickly.
In order to be able to follow up, all employees of the health department had to lend a hand.
At the beginning we were a team of 26 employees, later we had up to 130 employees, including employees from other offices and soldiers.
For the pandemic, however, we first had to set up suitable structures in the office.
What made things even more difficult: We didn't have the technical infrastructure.
Initially, we still sent the notices by fax and letter.
Digitization in the office was only pushed ahead by the pandemic.
Initially, we still sent the notices by fax and letter.
Digitization in the office was only pushed ahead by the pandemic.
dr
Stefan Günther, head of the health department in Weilheim
What happened then?
Günther:
From March 2020, we had a crisis meeting in our house once, sometimes twice a day.
There were representatives of the hospital GmbH, the doctors in private practice, the Red Cross, the technical relief organization, the fire brigade, the police and also the district administrator.
It helped us a lot at the time that a disaster was declared across Bavaria.
We received more personal support and were able to network better.
Has the Bavarian Ministry of Health provided specific guidelines on how the health authorities should proceed?
Günther:
Of course we had specifications regarding the duration of the isolation and quarantine, how contact persons had to test each other and so on.
But the exact implementation on site was left to us.
At that time there was no common reporting portal or software for processing the corona cases.
That was missing for the first few months.
We came up with solutions ourselves and worked with Excel spreadsheets.
Vogl:
Later we had to repeatedly revise isolation and quarantine notifications by hand and adapt them to new ministerial letters - there were sometimes several of these per week, some with contradictory content.
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dr
Stefan Günther, head of the Weilheim Health Department, and his deputy Petra Vogl review the past three years of the pandemic.
© EMANUEL GRONAU
New regulations were always announced at very short notice...
Günther:
Yes, sometimes overnight.
There were situations in which we found out about the current legal situation from the media.
Vogl:
The legal framework could also look completely different than what was portrayed in the press.
And some of the regulations were no longer legally comprehensible.
Also, a lot of things made no medical sense.
That sounds very challenging. There was repeated criticism that the health department was too slow.
Vogl:
In the omicron wave in March, we were about four weeks behind in processing.
We could only request the support of the Bundeswehr from a certain incidence and of course new staff always need a certain amount of time to familiarize themselves with the complex processes.
Günther:
We were staffed seven days a week and did our best.
Our thanks go to all those who helped.
Was there a moment when you thought, "We can't do this?"
Gunther:
No.
There was no panic.
We had a very motivated team.
With regard to the structure, we had the so-called Corona special unit from autumn 2020.
It operated as its own health department with flexible teams.
Actually, almost all employees of the office were employed in the Corona area.
We were only able to continue to look after very few other topics during the pandemic.
This included drinking water monitoring, pregnancy counseling and the recording of other infectious diseases.
What tasks did the health department have to postpone during the pandemic?
Günther:
For a long time there were no official medical reports, and there were no school entrance examinations.
The networks in the social area, as well as those relating to mental health and prevention, were scaled back, and everything to do with the Health Region Plus came to a standstill for the time being.
In retrospect, one should have generally acted with more caution.
Some events could certainly have been prevented, including the lockdowns and school closures.
It was simply not thought through to the end, what that does to the families and the children.
There is much for which politicians should apologize.
how is it going now
Günther:
After the big omicron wave, we transferred the special corona unit to the regular structures of the health department.
From April there was no longer a quarantine obligation for contact persons.
This saved us a lot of work.
Today Corona is a topic of many others.
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The first test station in the district was set up on March 14, 2020.
The picture shows health official Wolfgang Tilgner (right) with two colleagues.
© Health Department Weilheim
But there are still voices warning that the pandemic is not over yet. How do you assess the situation – we are currently receiving worrying news from China.
Günther:
The pandemic in Europe is over.
We've been in the endemic phase for a long time.
China is now struggling with the consequences of the Zero Covid policy.
Unlike in Western countries, no basic immunity could develop there.
95 percent of our population has antibodies, which makes the risk manageable.
And we could start up our structures in the office again in a very short time.
I expected much earlier that the measures would be scaled back, as in many other European countries.
Instead, Germany has turned out to be an island when it comes to the severity of the measures.
I accuse Karl Lauterbach of politically motivated polemics.
dr
Stefan Gunther
The fact that the measures were only withdrawn so slowly is not least due to our Federal Minister of Health, Karl Lauterbach.
Günther:
I accuse him of politically motivated polemics.
Epidemiologists know that pandemics tend to weaken from wave to wave.
After the omicron, I no longer feared it would get worse.
We saw very high case numbers - but at the same time no comparable increase in deaths.
Was the lifting of the obligation to isolate infected people long overdue?
Günther:
Yes, absolutely.
It is only right and logical to rely on people's personal responsibility again.
Anyone who is sick stays at home.
If you want to wear a mask, wear a mask.
But we no longer need government guidelines.
How do you feel about the end of facility-related compulsory vaccination?
Günther:
The law actually came a year too late.
The introduction on March 15, 2022 would no longer have been necessary.
At that time, it was already known that vaccination does not protect against infection and transmission.
We kept our feet still and did not initiate a single fine procedure, let alone issued a ban on entry.
Vogl:
Nevertheless, the law cost us an immense amount of work.
Much work for nothing.
I welcome the decision that partial vaccination was not extended.
What was the immense workload?
Vogl:
All employers of medical facilities had to report employees by mid-March who had not yet submitted any relevant proof.
That was around 700 people in the district.
We had to record all reports and write to the employees concerned and ask them to provide evidence.
Then it was a matter of keeping an eye on the feedback and checking the certificates and statements received.
Many have subsequently provided proof, some have had themselves vaccinated.
Some of them saved themselves with proof of recovery for a few months.
How did the counseling sessions with non-immunized people go?
Günther:
The arguments that were put forward were understandable in individual cases.
I experienced many of the people as highly reflective, who weighed up the pros and cons very well for themselves, who might be suffering from underlying diseases and allergies.
Who am I to put myself above these people?
Were there any so-called lateral thinkers among them?
Vogl:
Yes, but a minority.
About 15 to 20 people.
There has clearly been an exclusion of the unvaccinated.
dr
Stefan Gunther
A year ago, unvaccinated people were no longer allowed to take part in public life, go to restaurants or shop in certain shops. Unvaccinated young people were denied the opportunity to attend driving school - even though they were tested several times a week at school. Was that justified?
Günther:
There has clearly been an exclusion of the unvaccinated.
After the vaccination started in December 2020, the hope that everything would be fine with the vaccination was dashed relatively quickly.
Because the vaccination was designed for the wild type.
With each additional virus variant, more and more vaccination breakthroughs occurred, which we also documented and forwarded to the health department.
I thought 2G (editor's note: access only for those who had been vaccinated and those who had recovered) was excessive.
It is known that an FFP2 mask can provide effective protection against transmission if worn correctly.
Is there a contact point for people with vaccination damage in the district?
Günther:
According to the Infection Protection Act, we are obliged to record suspected reports of vaccination damage, to advise people and to inform the Paul Ehrlich Institute.
We then explain on the one hand about help options, such as special consultation hours at specialized clinics, but also about the possibility of applying for compensation from the pension office.
If you look at the entire pandemic period - what do you remember in particular?
Günther:
The first corona death in our district affected me very much.
I asked myself: what could have been done better?
That must have been late March, early April 2020.
The deceased was a relatively fit senior who was a volunteer.
His fate moved me and the entire team very much.
Are we better prepared for the coming pandemics?
Gunther:
Definitely.
But hopefully the next one won't come until I'm already retired.
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