Pandemic investigation required KBV boss complains about stigmatization of unvaccinated people
10.08.2024, 12:08 Listen to article
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Following the publication of the minutes of the Robert Koch Institute’s meetings in the first year of the coronavirus pandemic, there is intense discussion about how to deal with the pandemic. Gassen, head of the statutory health insurance doctors, complains about the way unvaccinated people are treated and advocates the establishment of an inquiry commission.
After the publication of corona protocols from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the head of the statutory health insurance physicians, Andreas Gassen, has made serious allegations about the way the unvaccinated have been treated. “Those who have not been vaccinated have been stigmatized too much,” said the chairman of the board of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KBV) to the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung”. The issue of vaccination has been “partly exaggerated”. “The scientifically sound Stiko recommendations – not the political will – should have been the sole basis.”
The debate about reviewing the Corona measures has been intensified again by recently published protocols from the Robert Koch Institute. The protocols provide insights into the work of the crisis team from January 2020 to April 2021.
At the centre of the debate was, among other things, the statement by former Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn about a “pandemic of the unvaccinated”. There is “beyond question” that the corona vaccinations have worked in the risk group of the very elderly and those with pre-existing conditions, especially in preventing serious courses of the disease, explained Gassen. “But the statement that those who are not vaccinated are to blame for the infections and deaths of others is not supported.”
Reappraisal also serves as preparation
In this context, Gassen again called for an examination of the pandemic years. The best way to do this would be an inquiry commission. This could not only help to “finally heal the wounds that have been opened up,” he said. “It could also help us to be better prepared for a possible next pandemic.”
The parties are currently discussing a parliamentary investigation into the corona pandemic. The Greens have already shown themselves open to various formats such as a citizens’ council or an expert committee. FDP health expert Andrew Ullmann described an inquiry commission as “mandatory”. The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) wants to set up corona investigation committees after the state elections in Saxony and Thuringia and after the 2025 federal election.
