There is currently no need for a vaccination, but better protection of care facilities and a policy that also asks for forgiveness. The first political reaction to the coronavirus pandemic in Austria in the spring can also be seen as largely positive in retrospect. In view of the scant information on the virus and its spread, the actors have to be “gracious” to a certain extent, according to the board of the Institute for Ethics and Law in Medicine at the University of Vienna.
Mistakes since summer
The political pressure is still enormous. But if you look at the back and forth about lockdowns, mass tests or failed regulations and laws since the summer, it is not surprising that personal responsibility is often lived primarily to find a personal hiding place in the constantly changing jungle of requirements, ” instead of thinking about the actual intention behind it ”.
The fact that large parts of the government are still unable to admit that mistakes have been made by the summer at the latest is not conducive to the mood. The absence of a culture of error, the excessive “message control” in parts of politics and the dismissive handling of criticism also open many a door for extreme, “actually unabashed” polemicists from the right-wing political spectrum to agitate against certain social groups, to raise the mood against vaccinations and the promotion of Test skepticism.
Strengthen personal responsibility
Despite all the coronavirus fatigue through to denial and conspiracy theories, Körtner believes in an opportunity to deal with the crisis in a broad, constructive manner via the vehicle of personal responsibility. “I feel it is an important task for politics to use good arguments to strengthen the people’s personal responsibility and not to bury the last bit of it,” emphasized Körtner.
The baby elephant, which was certainly “nicely meant” at the beginning, is still omnipresent, “is basically an infantilization” and is now also generating a lot of aversion. “I think a lot of things have gone bad here in terms of communication technology in the last few months.” What is needed here is less paternalism and more consistent messages.
Discussion about ski lifts
The imminent opening of the ski lifts in hard lockdown “does not reveal itself to me”, says Körtner, who locates very tangible “valuation contradictions” here. It is also quite legitimate to emphasize economic interests, because a good health system must first be able to be afforded. Turning a blind eye to a sport with a high risk of injury is still very questionable when you look at hospital capacities. Some things just don’t go together here.
Unfortunately, this also applies to the protection of risk groups – above all in old people’s and nursing homes – according to the ethicist. In many cases, there is still too little testing here, also because the necessary personnel simply do not exist and resources are “sewn to the edge”. Körtner emphasized that “the focus should be much more on this area”.
Vaccination not a “salvation” but a “good thing”
The theologian does not believe in a “downright religiously charged redemption” through a vaccine, which many long for before Christmas – but he does believe that vaccination is “a good thing”. In view of questions about the ultimate effectiveness, protection against infection and transmission and the duration of protection, the former member of the bioethics committee is against a “direct vaccination obligation at the present time”. But Körtner sees a “moral obligation”.
