Stefan Kluge heads intensive care medicine at the Hamburg University Hospital Eppendorf (UKE). The pneumologist and intensive care doctor treated around 100 Covid-19 patients, many of whom were discharged home. In the meantime, the doctor has got to know the disease well, and he believes that the German management with the pandemic has been very good overall. However, some discussions about dealing with the virus leave him at a loss.
WORLD: What did you learn about the disease itself?
Stefan Kluge: Perhaps one of the greatest learning effects was that the course of Covid-19 diseases is in some ways not much different from severe flu or other serious infectious diseases: Covid-19 also tends to kill older and more pre-existing people. However, the risk of infection is much higher due to the lack of immunity in the population.
WORLD: Do you mean to say Covid-19 is like an influenza?
–
