Germany lags behind countries like France, Spain and Portugal when it comes to vaccination rates. Christian Drosten does not believe that the quota can only be improved with vaccination offers.
The Berlin Charité virologist Christian Drosten is pessimistic that Germany can achieve an acceptable vaccination quota in the corona pandemic through vaccination offers alone.
The main reason is a certain indifference in the population, said Drosten in the podcast “The Coronavirus Update” published on Friday by NDR Info. He does not assume that Germany will get much further with the vaccination quota by addressing the population. “And that’s why I believe that politicians have a difficult task ahead of them and that they will have to consistently make decisions soon.” In this context, Drosten was also asked about compulsory vaccination as an option.
So far, only 61 percent of the total population have been fully vaccinated. In August, the vaccination rate only increased by around 10 percentage points. According to the latest weekly report from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), 83 percent of the population over 60 years of age have full vaccination protection. For adults between the ages of 18 and 60, the rate is 65 percent.
According to RKI calculations, however, at least 85 percent of 12 to 59 year olds and 90 percent of seniors aged 60 and over must be fully vaccinated so that a distinct new wave with full intensive care units in autumn and winter is unlikely.
One could try to convey the urgency of the vaccinations in Germany, said Drosten. «There is a fundamental openness. At the moment I would only assume very few people who have not been vaccinated to believe that they now believe completely crazy stories. ” Rather, it is sometimes this certain indifference that prevents a decision to vaccinate.
That is the big difference to people in Portugal or Spain. «They have had a terrible social experience. Lots of deaths and a real lockdown, where you can only go outside for shopping with justification and the military patrols the street. ” That is a real lockdown. “We didn’t experience that in Germany. I don’t think we can simulate this experience in Germany in retrospect. “
But what makes him optimistic is the high willingness to vaccinate among 12 to 17-year-olds, said Drosten. «That is to be seen extremely positively. We have a young, intelligent section of the population here. ” He believes that this can also be carried over to the students. Young people would therefore still play an important role in the near future.

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