Timo Lenzen/ DER SPIEGEL
Dear reader,
I had a disturbing dream last night about Corona.
Shortly before Christmas, the virus, this miserable thing, had transformed again.
It had spawned a mutation many times more contagious than its ancestors.
It had spread like lightning in Europe.
The numbers had shot up to dizzying heights.
240,172 new infections per day, an incidence of more than 1400;
Values that I thought should explode the corona widgets on the various news sites, but at least the RKI.
The strange thing: no one seemed to care.
Looking out the window, I saw people crowded in restaurants.
The children happily flocked to school and daycare, and every other day one of them brought Corona home with him.
The situation was similar in many neighboring European countries, but they were constantly celebrating Freedom Days there, and people in Germany were also demanding easing.
I remember thinking in my dream: Why aren't they happy that there are no tightened measures?
Talk show minister Karl Lauterbach saw it similarly, at least he warned against easing.
Whereupon he was castigated by the media and politicians who were willing to relax and dubbed "minister of fear".
It all seemed oddly familiar somehow, as if it were a ritual I'd followed a number of times.
Markus Söder, Prime Minister of Bavaria, had a completely absurd appearance in my dream.
Just a few days after he voted in the Bundesrat for facility-related vaccination, he loudly announced that he did not want to implement it at home in Bavaria.
I wondered how much is already known about neurological long covid and whether there is an urgent need for scientific validation, at least in his case.
As you can see, it wasn't a dream at all, it was simply a summary of the past week.
It really is time for this pandemic to end.
The new SPIEGEL, now digital and from Saturday at the kiosk
"Cold Expropriation: Inflation - Whom it hits hardest, why it stays and what helps against it," is the title of the new SPIEGEL. The issue is now available digitally and from Saturday at the kiosk.
Endemic or never end?
Hope for relaxation: the endemic does not mean the end of Corona
Karl Lauterbach assumes that protective measures can be relaxed before Easter.
There is hope for another good summer.
However, what happens next in autumn depends on a number of factors.
Current infection numbers: will the omicron wave break soon?
For the first time in weeks, the RKI numbers have not increased.
There is some evidence that the plateau has been reached – but there is an element of uncertainty.
That's how it is with the little ones
Study on Corona and Psyche: How can we help our children in the pandemic?
The head of the Copsy study warns that the well-being of children has deteriorated significantly during the crisis.
Positive trends in new numbers should not hide this.
The problem remains, even if Corona goes.
Late corona consequences: study underestimates the long-Covid risk in children and adolescents
Many parents are afraid that their children could suffer from long-Covid after an infection.
A study gave hope that the little ones are hardly affected - but on closer inspection it reveals weaknesses.
Organizers about #wir werdenlaut: "Children blame themselves if the corona test is positive"
Two school representatives explain why they feel overlooked and ignored in the pandemic - and how they are currently organizing nationwide protests against the government's corona policy.
Covid-19 in global figures
Confirmed cases: 406,809,841
Deaths: 5,793,530
Germany: 12,009,712 confirmed cases, 119,679 deaths
Sources: CSSE/Johns Hopkins University, as of February 11, 2022, 3:21 p.m.;
Robert Koch Institute, as of February 11, 2022, 3:58 a.m
News from research
Data from US veterans: How much does Covid-19 increase the risk of cardiovascular disease
? Covid-19 sufferers suffer more often from diseases such as heart attacks and strokes after their recovery, shows an analysis of cases from the first months of the pandemic.
Vaccinations could mitigate the effect.
Immunity gap: According to Omikron, unvaccinated people are not comprehensively protected
. After an Omikron infection, vaccinated and recovered people have antibodies against all previously known variants, while unvaccinated people do not.
A new preprint supports the thesis: Omikron cannot close the immunity gap.
Coronavirus: Babies of vaccinated mothers are protected by antibodies
Even months after birth, babies have high levels of antibodies against Covid-19 if their mothers were vaccinated.
That shows a new study.
Infection during pregnancy does not have the same effect.
Corona study from Israel: The supposed miracle weapon vitamin D
A new study suggests that taking vitamin D can protect against a severe Covid 19 infection.
But the work does not actually give such a statement.
What else was important
"Shortness of breath is a warning sign": How do I cure Covid-19 at home?
Anyone living through their Covid 19 illness at home is often unsure which symptoms are normal – and what to do if it gets worse.
A doctor gives answers.
Headstrong: Does Lauterbach have to fire RKI boss Wieler soon?
Lothar Wieler is under pressure, and more and more politicians are criticizing the decisive President of the Robert Koch Institute.
Health Minister Lauterbach is still defending him – but it should be the last time.
Protection for the elderly and the weak: the constitutional court rejects an urgent application against mandatory care vaccination
Complaints were received from around 300 plaintiffs.
But the Federal Constitutional Court initially approved compulsory vaccination in clinics and nursing homes in an urgent decision.
Have a nice weekend
Yours, Mikhail Hengstenberg
