Corona is back – there is an alarm mood in politics. “It’s five past twelve,” said RKI boss Lothar Wieler on Friday about the pandemic. That unsettles many citizens.
That is why one of the leading corona experts answered questions from BILD-LIVE viewers today: virologist Prof. Hendrik Streeck.
Streeck on these topics:
Should you let yourself be boosted?
“I am very much with Stiko – you should give priority to those who are at risk of suffering a difficult course,” that is, the elderly and those with previous illnesses. Exception: the people who received Johnson & Johnson. The effect of a third vaccination in younger people is not yet evident.
Compulsory vaccination: “Wouldn’t the pandemic be over sooner if we had a compulsory vaccination?”
Mrs. Wille from Saarbrücken asked this question. Streeck is skeptical of this idea.
Firstly, there is the difficult implementation: “You cannot pull from door to door and drag people in front of the needle.”
For Streeck, however, many unanswered questions with regard to the duration of protection and effectiveness are also decisive. The vaccination recommendations would have changed. “Imagine if we had a compulsory vaccination for AstraZeneca eight months ago!” Says Streeck. For him it is clear: “We cannot make a vaccination compulsory for such a vaccine.”
But wouldn’t it be better if everyone was vaccinated?
Yes, yes. In a “theoretical world” in which everyone is vaccinated, the situation would be more relaxed today, says Streeck, then we would move from a pandemic to an endemic. Nevertheless, the number of cases would increase in winter – because of the vaccination breakthroughs.
To the high number of infections
The fact that the current case numbers are so high – despite the cushioning by the vaccination – is “worrying,” said Streeck. In the past year, the health system would have collapsed with the current number of cases.
Where are the high numbers of infections coming from this year?
Last year we had barely half the number of cases at this time of year, noted one reader, and wanted to know why?
Streeck’s answer: We no longer have the restrictions from last year. “Mobility has increased, and we no longer test properly.” One must even assume a large number of unreported cases, because risk groups in particular can be tested.
“Can we get through the winter without a lockdown this year?” Asked a viewer
Streeck: “It cannot be ruled out in general, but we have to do everything to avoid it.” He advocates rules that are tightened in stages as the number of infections increases. But: Stricter rules such as 2G + (vaccinated or recovered AND tested) should apply to major events, but not in all public areas. They should not be introduced into restaurants or supermarkets.
Carnival in Cologne: does Streeck worry about that?
Not on the streets: “We know from aerosol researchers that we don’t get such big outbreaks.” BUT: different at private indoor celebrations and I’m a bit worried about something like that at the moment, because we generate outbursts that we can no longer tolerate at the moment. “
AHA rules and mask – do we still need them after we have been vaccinated?
Streeck: “The important thing is that we are all aware that we are still in the middle of the pandemic. Nobody can predict when we will reach a threshold where it cannot go higher. Nobody knows how many people will end up in the intensive care units based on today’s number of cases. “
Hence the recommendation: “First, distance yourself, wear a mask or even stay at home if you are afraid of getting infected.”
Why do Christmas markets have to close when you can hardly get infected outside ?, asks a reader
Streeck agrees with him. “At Christmas markets we don’t have the big problem we have in clubs.”
Will Christmas be the way we want it to be?
Not clear. “It’s going to be another complicated autumn and winter”, but it is difficult to predict whether the number of cases will rise or fall again soon.
Shouldn’t we have been winterized long ago?
Streeck: “We need a winter tire and a summer tire mode”. In the summer we knew that we would have a low number of cases, so the mask could easily have been left out. In winter you have to prepare the population so that the number of cases increases. “This difference could have been communicated from the start.”
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