Many people post photos of their vaccination on social media, mostly to cheer them on.
Biontech boss Ugur Sahin originally did not want to publish a photo of his vaccination. But on Friday evening he made a different decision. On the career platform LinkedIn he subsequently posted a photo of his first vaccination with Biontech in early 2021.
Friends had urged him to publish such a photo, explained Sahin. So far, he has refused on principle. He feels called to communicate scientific facts and not personal information.
But then the malicious rumor spread that he and his wife, Biontech co-founder Özlem Türeci, were not vaccinated at all.
An interview excerpt circulated online in which Sahin actually said he was not vaccinated. But the conversation is already over a year old: Back then, in December 2020, the vaccine was simply not yet approved for him. Elderly people were only allowed to be vaccinated from December 27th. Like everyone else, Sahin and Türeci had adhered to the federal government’s vaccination prioritization and waited their turn.
The dangerous tenor of the brazen conspiracy lie: the Biontech founders themselves had no confidence in the vaccine that made them billionaires. Sahin now defends himself against this accusation and makes it clear that he and Türeci have each been vaccinated three times.
In addition, with a quote from the Indian freedom fighter Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948), Sahin also went into why many people did not want to be vaccinated.
Ugur Sahin had become clear that a reason many unvaccinated against vaccination is fear. “Fear is not rational,” wrote Sahin, “but it always feels real and justified. It is people’s fear that often turns into anger and hatred. “
And further: “It is difficult to fight fear with facts and figures. Sometimes fear can be overcome better by sharing personal experiences, ”said Sahin. That’s why he shared his vaccination photo after all.
The sad reason for him to change his mind: Last week he found out that an old school friend had been tied to a ventilator for three weeks as a result of a coronavirus infection. His entire family was not vaccinated.
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