Hate, insults and death threats: RKI boss Wieler reports on his work in the Corona crisis.
Berlin – The corona pandemic has led to a clear division in society – also in Germany. Some opponents of measures are taking increasingly radical action against their enemy images. This is felt above all by those who stand up in public for the rules in the fight against the coronavirus.
Scientists such as Melanie Brinkmann, Christian Drosten and Hendrik Streeck are repeatedly confronted with massive threats. The President of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Lothar Wieler, can also tell you a thing or two about it. In an interview he talks about the threat.
Corona: RKI chief Wieler receives death threats
“I wish the situation would be more pleasant, but I still get threats,” Wieler told the newspapers of the Funke media group. If, for example, it is publicly claimed that he is responsible for the fact that schools are closed, or if the claim is made somewhere that he wants lockdown instead of freedom, “then the threats, including death threats, increase massively”.
But that doesn’t prevent him from doing his job. “But the risk doesn’t stop me from my duty. As long as I am an official of this state, I will serve him responsibly, ”said Wieler in an interview.
Lothar Wieler defends RKI: criticism due to incomplete corona vaccination data
The RKI boss defended his institute again against criticism because of incomplete vaccination data. An RKI report, according to which more people are probably vaccinated among adults than official data suggest, caused a stir last week. He shared the anger about the reporting problems, but the RKI was not responsible for it. “But the reporting of the vaccinating bodies is required by law in the Coronavirus Vaccination Ordinance, it must be complete and prompt in order to be able to show the progress of vaccination in Germany as accurately and up-to-date as possible. It is unfair to put the blame on the RKI, ”said Wieler.
The officially reported data are the minimum vaccination rate, said the RKI boss. With the entry of resident doctors into vaccination, the vaccination quota can no longer be recorded as precisely as in the vaccination centers. “We can only say that up to 84 percent of adults had been vaccinated at least once by the end of September and up to 80 percent had been vaccinated completely.” How high the actual quota is now cannot be said. (slo / dpa)
