Appeal to Corona policy: Expert group: "Broad immunity" requires a new strategy

The Federal Council will vote on the new corona rules for autumn and winter on Friday.

Appeal to Corona policy: Expert group: "Broad immunity" requires a new strategy

The Federal Council will vote on the new corona rules for autumn and winter on Friday. A group of doctors is now calling for a change of strategy. This should include an end to the outdated isolation orders and the elimination of vaccination requirements for healthcare workers.

Before the Federal Council vote on the Corona rules for autumn, a group of experts, including virologist Klaus Stöhr, called for a change in strategy. According to the paper published by the German Society for Hospital Hygiene, natural infections and vaccinations have led to “broad immunity” in the population. Politicians must initiate a "clear change in strategy with a focus on protecting vulnerable groups while at the same time ensuring the functionality of critical infrastructure and the health system".

The chairman of the German Society for Pediatric Infectious Diseases (DGPI), Tobias Tenenbaum, and the medical statistician Gerd Antes are also named as authors. Specifically, the group is calling, among other things, for the vaccination requirement for healthcare workers to be lifted, as this does not offer any protection against infection. The functionality of the critical infrastructure and the health system should be ensured “by eliminating disproportionate and unjustifiable, i.e. no longer up-to-date, isolation orders for healthy infected people”. Unreasonable routine tests and a mask requirement in schools are “to be rejected without indication”.

The change to a "consequence reduction strategy" is still overdue. Other countries have already done this successfully. "In Germany, on the other hand, the central statements are still dominated by the concepts and assessments of the first phase of containment" with the aim of avoiding any infection. "Although there has already been a change in strategy in many places, this is neither transparently justified nor openly communicated." The authors criticize: "The current ministerial communication on pandemic management is not only erratic, erratic and fear-inducing, but also overemphasizes consequences of a Covid 19 infection that have not yet been sufficiently researched, such as dementia, brain damage and Long Covid as long-term damage."

On Friday, the Bundesrat will vote on the new corona rules for autumn and winter that have already been passed by the Bundestag. The key provisions that are to apply from October 1 to April 7, 2023 include the obligation to wear masks on long-distance trains, clinics and medical practices. Countries can also reintroduce the wearing of masks in restaurants and other indoor spaces. This obligation should no longer apply in airplanes. There should be no more lockdowns, company or school closures.