In the news hour-broadcast about the German plans for a vaccination obligation, one Joost van Loon, a Dutch sociologist at the German Eichstätt-Ingolstadt University, is asked to explain, I assume, the differences between the Netherlands and Germany from a sociological perspective. He notes that there is a lot of whining in the Netherlands. “In Germany, there is much more a culture of collective responsibility, a more deeply rooted sense of duty. So people are more likely to do what is asked of them and don’t murmur so much,” said the sociologist.
Now I really appreciate the contribution from the social sciences in general; this crisis cannot be fought with knowledge from microbiology alone. But to put it in German: this is quack.
I take you back to this summer: on July 22, the German government announces that a month later, on August 23, access to hairdressers and restaurants can only be granted to people who have been tested negative, or cured, or vaccinated, the 3 Gs . The Germans had a problem this summer. At the end of July it became less and less crowded in the vaccination streets, and at that time only 50 percent of adults had been vaccinated. In the Netherlands, we were ten percentage points above the vaccination rate in Germany all summer. Until the booster campaign, the Netherlands has always been better vaccinated, despite the fact that there was no coercion until at least the beginning of September. People just showed up, for their health, out of a sense of responsibility and a sense of duty.
I am not a sociologist, but I think the main difference here is not a sense of duty but hierarchy. In Germany you follow orders. That is not a sense of duty, but docility and obedience. That is a virtue in Germany and not just for children. And the Dutch tendency to murmur and complain and whine? You could also just call it public debate. Because despite the grumbling, the Dutch rolled up their sleeves. Without coercion.
But I do accept the criticism. I am complicit in the grumbling about the unvaccinated. We have been arguing for too long about the extent to which we can push a small group of people further and further out of society. We need to talk about the good community. About the vaccinated. There is bad news about you, dear reader, especially if you are over 60 and got your last shot before June. Because we have a problem, and not just a little bit. You feel immune since your injection. The problem, that was the others.
Ever since the summer wave in Israel, we should have known that those wonderful mRNA vaccines, such as Pfizer and Moderna, strongly boost your antibodies but effect little immune memory. Your immune system has already largely forgotten what he was clearly told with the last shot. You are susceptible to Covid again. With a bit of luck you won’t get as sick as someone who never got a shot, but right now the mortality in the highly vaccinated nursing homes is just as high as during the first wave.
This mortality is largely caused by waiting too long with boosters.
But that’s only a small part of the problem. The Omikron variant is currently spreading rapidly in southern Africa and it seems that this variant is even less concerned with previous infections or vaccines. It is not yet known definitively, but it could well be that you are even less protected against this Omikron variant.
The only G of the 3G that still offers some guidance is the G of ge-sneltest. It is important that you ask all your guests to test themselves before they come to visit you. Including children.
Because what is emerging right now is a kind of perfect storm. The late booster campaign. A Sinterklaas weekend with the little ones. An escape variant. A healthcare system that can’t handle anything anymore. And frankly, I wonder if this country will continue to be locked before or after the Christmas holidays. For vaccinated and unvaccinated.
Rosanne Hertzberger is a microbiologist.
A version of this article also appeared in NRC Handelsblad on 4 December 2021
A version of this article also appeared in NRC in the morning of December 4, 2021
#perfect #corona #storm #shape