With “Hart aber fair” (ARD), there is a “year after year” feeling not only because of the upcoming holidays: It’s about the current pandemic situation.
Cologne – “Close the door, open the windows: Is that what the festival of reason looks like?” Asked Frank Plasberg on ARD exactly a year ago in his last broadcast before the holidays. Now the second Christmas party is imminent under Corona conditions, the TV talk shows have run out of topics again and at “Hart aber fair” the guest group discusses “2G under the Christmas tree: How will this Christmas become another party?”
Michael Müller, the ruling mayor of Berlin, the immunologist Prof. Dr. Carsten Watzl, the health psychologist Prof. Dr. Monika Sieverding, the retailer Hermann Hutter and the presenter Charlotte Würdig. As is almost always the case with Plasberg, things are pretty decent and matter-of-fact between them. With a concentrated and prayer-wheel-like vaccination explanation for all situations, well-informed viewers learn: Inside, however, hardly anything new, and it quickly sets in, well-groomed boredom – especially since the moderator Plasberg seems to be quite ready for the Christmas vacation with some tapeworms, interrupters or rubbish.
“Hard but fair” (ARD): 2G protects the unvaccinated against themselves
Again and again it is about those who for various reasons – fear, ignorance, defiance and much more – still do not want to be vaccinated and who are now excluded from many things by the 2G rule. Berlin’s Mayor Müller again readily admits: “The rules that we have now are of course also a certain amount of pressure that is generated. Because we still have to increase the vaccination rate for comprehensive protection. “
And immunologist Watzl emphasizes once again in “Hart aber fair” (ARD) very clearly: “Just because the unvaccinated person has a test does not make it less likely that he will be infected, become seriously ill and end up in the hospital. That is really the reason for 2G: that you have to protect the unvaccinated from yourself. ”Exemplary“ hard but fair ”guest book entries from vaccination opponents give an idea of how difficult or even impossible it is People can still be reached.
| “Hard but fair” with Frank Plasberg on ARD | The guests of the show |
|---|---|
| Michael Müller | Governing Mayor of Berlin, SPD |
| Prof. Dr. Carsten Watzl | immunologist |
| Prof. Dr. Monika Sieverding | Health psychologist |
| Charlotte Worthy | moderator |
| Hermann Hutter | Entrepreneur |
Watzl says to Frank Plasberg on ARD: “Some people are so terrified of the vaccination that they dismiss the actual infection as a trifle. And if I just read the horror stories on Telegram every day about what this vaccination is supposed to cause, then at some point I won’t even get the facts. We therefore have to act much more consistently against people who spread misinformation and lies. “In view of a corresponding comment, moderator Würdig is downright indignant, who went through a Covid 19 disease with her young children despite double vaccinations:” I get sick when I hear that. It is such a maddening underestimation to say that I let myself be infected with it voluntarily. I think these people do not see the broad spectrum and that is extremely dangerous. “
“Hard but fair” on ARD: Waiting is not an option when boosting
“Hard but fair” is devoted to booster vaccinations in detail. Here, too, the immunologist has most of the information ready and advocates not waiting for a refresher. Even six months after the second vaccination, one is still very well protected from severe corona disease, including the Omicron variant. The situation is different with the general risk of infection: “The protection against infection is significantly weakened at Omikron. Here you have to say clearly to the people: It is useless to wait for March ”- only then should the vaccines adapted to Omikron be administered.
And when Plasberg asked whether too frequent vaccinations might at some point become a factor of uncertainty, Watzl reassured him with the realization: “Every four months this is not a problem.” – because we still have too many unvaccinated people. If we do not close this vaccination gap now, we will face the same problem next winter. “
He also gives an answer as to whether the vaccinations for children and adolescents are useful and safe. In children too, side effects such as myocarditis are extremely rare, while Covid-19 infections could also cause them, and much more frequently than vaccinations. And we find out: Watzl’s own children are vaccinated, the presenter’s son as well and his colleague Charlotte Würdig want their 5 and 8-year-old sons to be vaccinated without hesitation as soon as the STIKO, their family doctor and their pediatrician recommend it in unison.
“Hard but fair” (ARD): demands for clear rules and messages
Once again, the state organization of the pandemic did not fare well. The recovered worthy complains at Plasberg: “I felt alone because there are no proper instructions. In the beginning it was mild, then it got worse and worse and I didn’t know what about the children if I had to go to the hospital at night – why is there no hotline? ”And, in another context:“ I find all the studies Exciting, but only understand half of it and I think a lot of people out there feel that way. We need a different kind of education. “
The retailer Hermann Hutter hits a similar line with “Hart aber fair” and specifically talks about Christmas: “Christmas is an important festival in our society, because we need rituals, we need stops in our lives. But we need clear messages on how it should work to celebrate it together. We have a jumble of rules, nobody understands that anymore and we can’t take people with us. ”And he adds critically to the current 2G obligation in stores in the middle of the Christmas business:“ We are forced to play the police force. The trader will be punished, those who violate 2G will not. “
To the broadcast
Hard but fair, ARD, from Monday, December 13, 2021, 9:15 p.m. The broadcast on the net.
Health psychologist Monika Sieverding emphasizes another aspect on ARD: “The main problem people have is that they don’t know how long the whole thing will take. That wears down. And too little is valued and too little reported about which measures worked in the pandemic “before comparing it to cancer:” You can’t endure this state of affairs if you don’t always have hope in between. The political leaders have to convey that more. The hope: the sanctions work, there are positive developments instead of always pointing to those who break the rules. “
“Hard but fair” on ARD: The principle of hope
Berlin’s still-OB Michael Müller tries to play the role of hope maker. Regarding the quick vaccination options for first-time vaccinates, where the “fast” is sometimes still a massive problem with waiting times of up to four hours, he says: “The capacities are being increased further here. The infrastructure is there and will be expanded. ”And with regard to Christmas, he said to Frank Plasberg:“ We now know how to deal with the pandemic and have learned so much that we can do things again over the Christmas period that we can start the next year optimistically. But it doesn’t come by itself, but only through our behavior together. We have a near 400 incidence nationwide. And we go shopping, we go to the movies and to concerts, we meet friends and family. That would have been unthinkable a year ago. “
And while the viewer: in earnestly hopes that Plasberg’s programs “Hart aber fair” will finally revolve around other topics after the Christmas break in the new year, immunologist Watzl sums up the things that will come very scientifically: “ It’s not so much the virus that is going to change. It’s us. We will be infected with it regularly, we will also have deaths, but no longer to the extent that the health system is overloaded. We allow ourselves three thousand traffic fatalities per year and ten to twenty thousand flu fatalities per season – and Corona will end up somewhere in between. “(Peter Hoch)
