Dear reader,
From the outset, there was no blessing in the debate about compulsory vaccination in Germany.
The flaming pleas from those who actually wanted them in the government were missing.
In addition, there were the snipers from their own ranks (special unit in this regard: the FDP again).
So it's no surprise that compulsory vaccination didn't even make it through the Bundestag in the very weakened form.
Is that a cause for concern?
After all, the infection situation currently looks relatively rosy: the number of cases is falling and spring has begun.
But my colleague Veronika Hackenbroch recently explained how quickly that can change in the editorial of SPIEGEL : Veronika writes that even a simple calculation example shows how quickly a high infection rate in the group of 2.7 million over 60-year-olds can lead to this could push the healthcare system to its limits.
According to data from the French Directorate for Research, Studies, Assessment, and Statistics, the risk for an unvaccinated 70-year-old to end up in the intensive care unit with an omicron infection is almost two percent - more than seven times as high as for a three-fold person vaccinated same age.
If around a quarter of the around 2.7 million unvaccinated people over the age of 60 in Germany become infected, this would lead to around 13,000 Covid intensive care patients in this population group alone.
The supply would only be critical for half of them.
Which path the virus takes, which variants will form over the next few months - we don't know.
One thing is certain: With the law, which has really been significantly weakened, we would have significantly reduced the risk of renewed restrictions for everyone next winter.
When things go bad, we all have nothing to smile about.
The new SPIEGEL, now digital and from Saturday at the kiosk
"Putin's bloody trail - how the Russian massacres are changing the war," reads the headline of the new SPIEGEL. The issue is now available digitally and from Saturday at the kiosk.
Bye bye freedom
Minister Lauterbach: "We no longer have any leeway for easing"
Health Minister Karl Lauterbach describes the failure of compulsory corona vaccination in the Bundestag as a "clear defeat": In autumn the country will probably not be prepared for a pandemic wave again.
Vaccination decision in the Bundestag: A huge failure
The vaccination has failed.
Chancellor Scholz and Health Minister Lauterbach have miscalculated, the Union faction has played out its opposition power.
All are damaged.
Podcast on the decision to vaccinate: a record of a failure
The chancellor and the minister of health wanted a general obligation to vaccinate, but gave up the procedure.
Germany now has no plan for the winter.
How could this happen?
Vote on compulsory vaccination from 60: repelled
Karl Lauterbach urged Annalena Baerbock to return to Berlin from the NATO summit.
But the Bundestag voted clearly against the vaccination requirement.
A memorable day in Parliament - summarized in the video.
Failure of compulsory vaccination: leadership ordered - fiasco got
an unworthy spectacle with the greatest possible damage: the corona vote in the Bundestag revealed a failure of the chancellor, the minister, the entire parliament.
Now Germans could pay for it with their lives.
Isn't everything so bad?
Corona victims in Germany: which people die from omicron
More than 200 deaths every day: the pandemic is far from over, doctors report shocking developments.
A data analysis shows how dangerous the disease still is - and who is particularly at risk.
Covid-19 in global numbers
Confirmed cases: 496,421,074
Deaths: 6,171,273
Germany: 22,441,051 confirmed cases, 131,370 deaths
Sources: CSSE/Johns Hopkins University, as of April 08, 2022, 12:20 p.m.;
Robert Koch Institute, as of April 08, 2022, 3:09 a.m
News from research
Future handling of Corona: “No one will be able to avoid becoming infected”
There is hardly an infectious disease in the world that has been researched as well as Covid, says microbiologist Johannes Knobloch.
It is okay to gradually give up many protective measures.
Swedish study: Corona increases the risk of blood clots months after infection
The risk of pulmonary embolism and venous thrombosis is multiplied by a corona infection.
According to a new study of all those who tested positive in Sweden, this applies up to six months after the diagnosis.
New Subtype Discovered: What is known about Omikron XE
In the UK, experts have identified a new Omikron subvariant.
Will she displace BA.2?
Does it lead to more severe courses?
That is still unclear.
But the number of cases is increasing.
Data from Israel: How long does the fourth Biontech dose protect against Corona?
Israel was the first country to recommend a second booster vaccination to people over 60.
A study shows that it significantly reduces the risk of severe Covid 19 disease, but only protects people from infection for a short time.
What else was important
Life with Long Covid: recovered, but far from healthy
Nadine Beckmann-Kruse got infected while helping others.
She has been unable to work for 41 weeks.
Like her, more than a million Germans suffer from the various after-effects of the disease.
Special path in the corona pandemic: The failure of the "Swedish model" and its dramatic consequences
"laissez-faire" and "ignorance" - in a new report there is clear criticism of Sweden's pandemic policy.
The death of many people was willingly accepted.
Your Julia Merlot
wishes you a nice weekend
