Curfews, digital lessons and compulsory vaccination for certain groups: Corona policy has polarized society. Politicians are now admitting some mistakes.
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) has admitted political errors in the corona pandemic. “The biggest mistake was that we were sometimes too strict with the children and probably started the easing measures a little too late,” he told “Spiegel”.
“We should have done more to avoid educational deficits in order to maintain the educational offering in schools.” And the time was not used to improve the “catastrophic digitalization” in schools. “At the same time, we didn’t offer the children enough, we didn’t provide them with enough psychotherapeutic care. We overlooked warning signs,” he said.
The bottom line is that Germany got through the pandemic “very well” – given that the population is relatively old. “Everyone has made mistakes, but our overall record is good.” Technically, Germany is now much better prepared for the next pandemic. “We can develop and produce vaccines internationally and in Germany much faster than before at any time. We have a lot more protective material available and are more independent of supply chains.” As a society, however, Germany is less prepared. There is “a massively mobilized subgroup” that overlaps heavily with AfD voters, rejects infection protection measures and is against vaccinations. “It would make any future pandemic more difficult to deal with politically.”
“You have to be very careful with calls for compulsory vaccination”
The then Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) told “Spiegel”: “We made decisions that I would no longer agree with today. For example, the night-time curfew, which had little effect on breaking the chains of infection.” In contrast, they waited far too long to take strict measures in hospitals and nursing homes. The “yes were breeding grounds for the virus”. “The lesson for me is: You have to be very careful with calls for compulsory vaccination, as this couldn’t even be implemented for the nursing homes and hospitals in Bavaria.” And today, vaccine damage is known to a non-negligible extent. “In this respect, I can understand the resistance at the time from today’s perspective.”
The then head of the chancellery of the black-red federal government, Helge Braun (CDU), said that the government had initially overestimated the effectiveness of the vaccines. Based on an initial report from the Robert Koch Institute, it was assumed that vaccinated people were also safe from infection. “We promoted vaccination as a solution for exiting the pandemic and created expectations that we were ultimately unable to fulfill,” said Braun. It later became clear that the vaccination only protected against severe cases, but did not break the chains of infection. Today, he is concerned that vaccination fatigue is spreading in society, even though vaccination is still the best prevention for many diseases, says Braun.
Four years ago, the coronavirus spread worldwide. In Germany, politicians decided, among other things, to close schools and impose curfews.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
