Jens Spahn (CDU), former Federal Minister of Health / photo alliance, Bernd von Jutrczenka
Berlin – Former Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn has hit back at criticism of the phrase “pandemic of the unvaccinated” he used in the corona crisis.
“What this meant is that in the intensive care units at the time we mainly saw unvaccinated people who had serious and extremely serious cases,” said the CDU politician. ZDF. This was a situation “that threatened to overwhelm the health system.”
The background is the publication of unredacted documents about the meetings of the corona crisis team at the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). A group led by freelance journalist Aya Velázquez has put the documents online on the website rki-transparenzbericht.de has been made available for download.
She wrote about the origin of the material on the portal X (formerly Twitter): “A whistleblower, a former employee of the Robert Koch Institute, came to me and gave me the dataset.” The RKI explained that “neither” the datasets were checked nor verified.
In a document entitled Results Protocol of November 5, 2021, a representative of a department of the RKI states: “The media are talking about a pandemic of the unvaccinated. Technically incorrect, the entire population contributes. Should this be taken into account in the communication?” There is no conclusion from the Federal Center for Health Education. The rules regarding distance, hygiene and ventilation would once again receive greater attention.
Berlin – The almost 4,000-page protocols of the corona crisis team of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) were published yesterday without redaction. A first glance shows: They are snapshots that reflect the confusing situation during the pandemic, with constantly changing situations and which leave a lot of room for interpretation. This is also because of him […]
“It serves as an appeal to all who have not been vaccinated to get vaccinated.” Then a representative of another expert says: “The minister says this in every press conference, probably consciously, there is no way to correct it.”
A spokesman for Spahn said Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitungthe minister at the time referred to the fact that 90 to 95 percent of COVID-19 patients in intensive care units had not been vaccinated.
“The RKI’s technical assessment that the total population also contributes does not contradict this.” Spahn, for example, wrote on Twitter on September 7, 2021: “In terms of incidence and in intensive care units, we see: We are experiencing a growing pandemic of unvaccinated people. Everyone who can should get protection!”
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) said this Mirror in view of his predecessor: “Spahn probably meant that vaccinated people could also become infected, which was known and not disputed by him; however, it was mainly unvaccinated people who had to go to the intensive care unit with severe cases.” Many of the measures taken were necessary to protect especially unvaccinated people and the health system.
Green health expert Janosch Dahmen expressed concern that the unedited publication would violate the personal rights of RKI employees in particular. Furthermore, it is at least accepted that their safety will be significantly endangered as a result.
“Everything must be done now to ensure that these people, who have done extraordinary work at the RKI to overcome this unprecedented health crisis for this country, receive the necessary protection that has now become necessary.”
According to Lauterbach, the RKI intends to publish its protocols itself at a date that has not yet been announced. The documents show what the crisis team discussed in its meetings: current infection numbers, the international situation, vaccinations, tests, studies or containment measures.
In May, the RKI had already published the protocols for the period from January 2020 to April 2021, largely without redactions. The trigger was an earlier publication of more edited protocols by the online magazine “Multipolar”. The fact that numerous passages were redacted at the time sparked a debate about the independence of the RKI. © dpa/ggr/aerzteblatt.de