Intensivist Diederik Gommers has responded to the fuss that arose after statements made by him in an online interview about the impact of the corona measures on young people. In the almost 20-minute conversation, Gommers said “the whole covid is peanuts” and “all young people don’t get sick at all”. on Instagram let him know that his intention is not to be disparaging about the virus and that the statements were made in context.
The intensivist and chairman of the Dutch Association for Intensive Care made the statements in an interview with youth platform Nieuwskamer and the Amsterdam debate center De Balie. It was about the effect of the corona pandemic on young people.
Plan
In the conversation, Gommers argued for separate measures for young people. He believes that the young generation should make a plan for how they can get more freedom of movement during the pandemic.
“What is very important is that young people hardly ever get sick. That is not 0 percent, but the chance is very small. Then you can still get lung covid complaints, but that chance is also relatively small among young people.”
That while, according to him, the corona measures have a lot of impact on young people. “I just think you should start the conversation, like: we are now losing two years of our most important development in our lives. It is an important phase in your life to get to know yourself. We want to think along in a safe solution.”
special
At the end of the discussion, Gommers compared the corona pandemic with climate change and other viruses, such as Ebola. In that regard, the coronavirus is “peanuts” for young people. “This is a virus of nothing, really. We lock each other up, but it doesn’t actually make us sick,” said Gommers, referring to the younger generation.
The latest statement was widely shared on social media. Online, the statement is called “special”.
This is the following excerpt from the conversation:
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