The virologist Christian Drosten and the former chairman of the Ethics Council Alena Buyx look back on the pandemic and take stock. The focus is on debates about school closures, the Corona vaccination and the Swedish model. Drosten also warns against non -regulated high -risk research -The debate about the origin of the virus could not be covered.
Christian Drosten was part of the narrower advisory committee of the former German Chancellor Angela Merkel when the Coronavirus Drive began. The office of the former KanSelier called it “exchange of ideas” when Drosts and his team were contacted for the first time. From the beginning it was clear that this would not explain very official political advice his Robert Koch Institute (RKI) or the Leopoldina, as Drosten explains in an interview with “NTV Salon”.
That was about five years ago – Germany went to the first Lockdown on March 16, 2020. This was followed by discussions about school closures, masks and corona vaccination. The virologist Drosten was on TV almost every day from that day.
Buyx: “We have argued”
The former chairman of the German Ethical Council Alena Buyx also regularly participated in those debates and discussions. “We have completed processes,” says Buyx, and admits complications: “We have argued.” There is no different opinion between Buyx and Drosten, nor he would have spoken to the other in the respective field of virology and ethics. Buyx calls the “reflection space” that the debates subsequently made specific decisions.
The virologist had to take a lot of criticism in the five years. But Drosten would have always tried to say the same thing in political advice about the public, as he gives in the interview. He also rejects the concept of the Whisperer of the Scholz or Merkel: “That is simply not true.” In retrospect, the assembly bans had considerably reduced the infections, as Drosten explains. The question is the price that society had to pay and what damage would be caused.
Debate about school closures “Complex”
When asked how Drosts would evaluate the school closures afterwards, this was “complex”. Data would show that school closures would have had a clear effect on infection control. However, you could say that the “price was too high”, as the virologist explains. According to Buyx, the boys had “relatively good” the start of the pandemic – the youth was very resilient for a short time. Due to the continuous restrictions with the beginning of the Ukraine war, the psychological stress would have been too high. “Thank goodness, the burden has now fallen again, but the situation is still not good,” said the former chairman of the Ethics Council.
The assumption that vaccination would end that the pandemic would have been correct at that time, according to the virologist. Initially, the virus only mutated slowly, so that a complete overwhelming could have contain the spread. The problem was that large parts of the world’s population did not remain -vaccinated, so that the virus continued several times and eventually resulted in mutations with immune flights. These variants would have spread in vaccinated countries, so that a vaccination percentage of 70 percent would no longer have been sufficient. The virus was always for the plans, especially with the Omicron variant. Nevertheless, vaccination continued to prevent serious courses.
It was wrong to say that vaccination never oppressed the transfer – it did it, if not perfect and with a decreasing effect, Buyx explains. However, this was misled communicative. In retrospect, the company should have emphasized the ordinary instead of excluding non -vaccinated.
The Swedish model as a better alternative?
The Swedish model with the appeal to the population for personal responsibility would not be used anywhere. It goes to the country, the population distribution, the level of education, the economic strength or weakness of a population, said magazines. The acceptance of vaccinations was considerably higher, but Sweden registered a doze -time number of death in the first wave than other Scandinavian countries and one five times higher than in Germany.
The knowledge of the origin of the virus would also have been irrelevant to combat pandemic – but according to Drosten this would be important for the future. Dangerous pathogens can be investigated, but with a high risk research mountains must always be regulated that must be regulated. The virologist could not increase the accusation of a laboratory accident in Wuhan, the possibility of the scientific evaluation of this data was not possible for him. “But we have to find an answer to this. We don’t have to hide it,” Drosten emphasizes.
A new problem is based in research with a high risk: ten years ago it could have been the impression that such work only took place in a few special laboratories in Europe and the US, where serious researchers would not jeopardize their scientific reputation for risky experiments. In the meantime, however, it is known that such research would also be operated in other countries, not just in China. These countries cannot easily be prescribed to stop. This is a new problem: Drosten calls for international regulations in this respect.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
