Politicians are arguing about the free quick test in the Corona crisis. The Minister of Health wants to limit them. It is not the only topic related to Corona that is causing discussions.
The question of how to proceed with the free rapid corona tests that have been widely available to date also divides the traffic light coalition. Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) wants to limit them.
With a view to autumn, the Greens in the Bundestag are promoting test offers that are still available across the board. “The free citizen tests are an effective tool to keep the necessary overview of the infection process,” said the health policy spokesman for the Greens parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Janosch Dahmen, the German Press Agency in Berlin.
The citizen tests financed by the federal government will initially be available until the end of June. According to the rules in force until then, everyone without a reason or symptoms is entitled to at least one quick test per week at test sites by trained staff and with a certificate.
Suggestion: Only test if you have symptoms
Lauterbach said on Wednesday before the conference of health ministers in Magdeburg that in the past tests had been billed that were not carried out and tests had been carried out that were not necessary. According to a proposal by the Federal Ministry of Health, only people with symptoms should be eligible for free tests, as well as other selected groups such as small children and pregnant women.
The parliamentary group leader of the Liberals, Christian Dürr, told the “Welt”: “The FDP parliamentary group also considers occasion-related tests to be useful.” It is important that the federal states also contribute to the costs of the citizen tests. “We have to talk about that now.”
Dahmen said that with widely available free tests, chains of infection could be detected early and broken. “Without testing, we’re flying blind.” He accused critics: “The talk of testing without cause creates a myth.” Nobody likes to be tested. The general pandemic risk is reason enough anyway. “We must not put any unnecessary hurdles in the way of an important tool like the tests,” said Dahmen. “With a view to autumn, we still need test offers that are available across the board.”
Saxony-Anhalt’s Minister of Health, Petra Grimm-Benne (SPD), who chairs the Conference of Health Ministers, pointed out that the federal states are already paying for tests in daycare centers and schools. Bavaria’s head of department Klaus Holetschek (CSU) said that the states did not initially contribute to further costs, they already did that at vaccination centers.
The health ministers will meet in Magdeburg until Thursday. It is also about legal regulations for the fall. The results of the deliberations are to be presented at noon.
Anti-corona drugs cause discussions
The head of the German Association of General Practitioners, Ulrich Weigeldt, warned against overly high expectations of the effects of drugs against Corona. “Of course it is very gratifying that progress is being made in the development of effective drugs against severe Covid courses,” he told the editorial network Germany (RND). “But politicians shouldn’t give the impression that doctors just have to prescribe more anti-corona drugs and everything will be fine.”
Lauterbach recently said that there are very convincing drugs that are used far too little. The drug Paxlovid has been on the market in Germany since February. The remedy is intended to counteract severe courses.
Weigeldt said: “Paxlovid can be very helpful for a small group of high-risk patients, but it is not a game changer for the general population.” The drug has a number of interactions and must also be taken very early in the disease.
“Simply demanding that the doctors pull out the prescription pad earlier and we have the pandemic under control would be far too short,” said Weigeldt. Politics should not raise false expectations. “The most effective of all measures is and remains vaccination.”
Source: Stern
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