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The virologist Klaus Stöhr speaks about wrong activism, vaccination requirements and a renewed lockdown. That children have to wear a mask in school is a scandal.
Munich – Professor Klaus Stöhr worked for the World Health Organization and the pharmaceutical manufacturer Novartis. Today the 62-year-old is a freelance consultant and one of the most renowned virologists and vaccine experts. In an interview with our newspaper, Stöhr analyzes the escalating corona situation and does not save with criticism of politics.
Fourth corona wave: Only politics apparently did not know
Mr. Stöhr: The Corona crisis hits us harder than ever. Are you surprised?
Prof. Klaus Stöhr: No. The great force of the fourth wave was to be expected. We warned urgently in summer that a bad winter was coming. It remains incomprehensible why politicians did not prepare the country well for this.
What could or should politics have done?
Doesn’t everyone who is better vaccinated contribute to the containment of Corona?
Prof. Stöhr: Indeed. But after the sleepy summer there is too much time to get bogged down in resources, communication and logistics. Only ten percent of the vulnerable are boosted. Let me explain it with a picture: You have five children, three are healthy, one has a cold, one is terminally ill – which one would you take care of first? To all of them at once or to the child who is particularly at risk first?
Corona vaccination: Politicians should touch this “hot potato” now
The politicians assert that the elderly and the sick, especially in nursing homes, are now better protected.
Prof. Stöhr: That would be absolutely important: Last winter, more than 40 percent of the deaths came from the small group of 950,000 residents of the old people’s and nursing homes. This must not be repeated. In addition to the current vaccination protection for residents and nursing staff, monitored hygiene concepts including professional rapid tests are necessary for all visitors, including those who have been vaccinated. Because there is still so much to do for politicians to protect the vulnerable, they should focus – also with a view to the many unvaccinated nurses.
Do you have to be vaccinated?
Prof. Stöhr: In any case, politics must finally touch this hot potato for the care professions and take a closer look. On the one hand, I am generally more in favor of information and persuasion than pressure and coercion. On the other hand, we don’t have much time for big discussions now. Now we need quick solutions.
Is politics overwhelmed?
Corona vaccinations less effective against Delta variant? That’s what the expert says
Many people are unsettled about the booster vaccination. The fear of a harmful over-vaccination is circulating.
Prof. Stöhr: The third vaccination is as safe as the first two. So far there has only been one single hypothesis that an excessive amount of antibodies could be problematic – namely for young men under 30. In this group, there is a suspicion of an increased risk of heart muscle inflammation. For older people, however, the following applies: The booster vaccination can significantly increase the protective effect again, even beyond the level immediately after the second vaccination.
Nevertheless, many vaccinated people feel insecure because of the number of vaccination breakthroughs.
Could it be that the vaccines against the Delta variant are not working as well?
Prof. Stöhr: Delta is associated with stronger and longer virus shedding. This has some influence on the spread of the virus, but so far not significantly on the effectiveness of the vaccines. There will certainly have to be a vaccine adaptation in the future. At present, however, there are no new variants that have the potential to become regionally or globally dominant and which would require vaccine adjustments soon.
Corona: new lockdown makes sense? Virologist explains why school rules are absurd
Is a new lockdown necessary – and does it make sense?
Do the protective measures also have to be tightened again in schools and kindergartens?
Corona infections prevented by FFP2 masks? The opposite seems to be the case
Keyword new FFP2 mask requirement: Is FFP2 really that important?
But other experts see it very differently.
Prof. Stöhr: Possible. But the experts of the German Society for Hospital Hygiene are very clear in their statements: FFP2 masks are not an option for the general population. They produce more infections, generate more transmissions than the normal medical mask. Among other things, because they rarely sit really tight. If you walk through Munich, you will see that not many people know that FFP2 masks come in four different sizes and that each has to be adapted to the face. Tightly fitting FFP2 masks also require increased work of breathing, which cannot be performed by the elderly or people with respiratory diseases. In most cases, therefore, they do not offer better protection than medical masks.
Interview: Andreas Beez
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