Hard but fair (ARD): Karl Lauterbach describes the pass-through strategy as an "unetical bet"

Two years of the corona pandemic and no end in sight. For Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, the run-through strategy, as in Great Britain, is an “unethical bet”.

Berlin – For the second pandemic birthday, Frank Plasberg would have liked to have brought a corona review at Hart, but Omikron does not allow it. Instead, Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) has to explain a lot with stoic calm in a group that is pleasantly factual but also seems depressingly at a loss. As the moderator emphasizes again and again: “It remains complicated”.

Frank Plasberg’s central question, on the other hand, is apparently easy to answer: What is the right strategy at Omikron: Continue to vaccinate or let it go through? Here, unlike in later debates, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach is very clear: “We don’t have to open the doors to the virus, it comes by itself.” He doesn’t believe in a continuous strategy like the one in Great Britain: “It’s an unethical bet . Such an experiment would not be acceptable in our country ”, simply because the vaccination rate in Great Britain among the over 65-year-olds is significantly higher than in Germany.

The family doctor tells Hart aber fair (ARD) about the problems in the practices

While Karl Lauterbach is still trying to calm down in the “tough but fair” round with references to the big booster campaign in Germany, the general practitioner Anke Richter-Scheer, chairwoman of the Westphalia-Lippe General Practitioner Association, brings problems from your everyday practice to the table : Because the distribution works too poorly, she has too little vaccine, especially from BioNTech, which many patients want.

“I then tell my patients very clearly:” We are not in a request concert “”. CDU man Thorsten Frei, visibly trying to be a constructive opposition politician in the course of the program, comments with a slight sadness: “This is the advantage of family doctors that they can speak so clearly with their patients.” As a politician, he has it clearly heavier.

Quarantine cuddles at Hart but fair on ARD: When does what apply?

How difficult becomes clear when Frank Plasberg tries on his ARD broadcast to gain clarity about the new quarantine rules. “When do these rules apply?” He wants to know. Thorsten Frei gets entangled in contradictions in the declaration, Karl Lauterbach jumps to his aid: “The ordinance will go through the Federal Council on Friday, until then the old rules will still apply”. Frank Plasberg thinks this is misleading, after all, on the side of the federal government, it already says: “These are the current Corona rules”.

Hard but fair (ARD): The suffering of children in the corona pandemic

Claudia Kade, Head of Politics at “Welt”, brings another important point to the “Hard but fair” discussion round: “Where do the vaccinated children actually appear in this list”? Karl Lauterbach explains and promises: “When the decision is there, we will describe precisely on the RKI page how this is to be implemented.” But a little later, when the journalist pointed out worrying numbers about increased suicides, eating disorders and psychosocial problems among children and young people, it gets very quiet for a moment on ARD.

Until Karl Lauterbach catches himself and points out that the connection to the lockdown suggested by Claudia Kade may be premature. Because similar problems are emerging in other countries with less harsh measures such as the USA or Great Britain. “The majority of the problems are possibly more to do with this terrible pandemic,” suspects Karl Lauterbach. Thorsten Frei refers to the situation last year, shortly before Christmas, when the health system was very close to being overburdened and the schools were also closed: “You had to take tough measures.” It almost sounds pleading, because ultimately everyone knows “Hard but fair”: The children have suffered the most and are still doing it.

The resentment of the corona protesters: what use are arguments?

All the more incomprehensible appear the protests that have continued to spread. With the journalist Antonie Rietzschel, who reports for the Süddeutsche from Leipzig, Frank Plasberg wants to unravel who is actually protesting against the Corona measures and why. The journalist explains to the “tough but fair” moderator, who outlines himself as a “hopeless western growth”, what makes East protesters tick who, because of their experience of dictatorship, do not want to be tamed by the state and for whom right-wing extremist slogans are normal will. “It is very much about emotionalizing. This also affects people from my environment, to whom I can no longer get through with arguments, ”says Antonie Rietzschel.

Even Karl Lauterbach, who is repeatedly the target of hatred and death threats from this milieu, does not believe that he can convince these people with arguments. But it is clear to him: “We will not allow ourselves to be blackmailed. We do not change the decision-making process because a small group is applying pressure. ”More worried than about himself, he is worried about the local politicians, who are much less protected.

Fruitless vaccination light debate at Hart but fair on ARD

After these highly emotional topics, a fruitless debate about compulsory vaccination seems a bit wasted. Frank Plasberg wants to quickly nail down Karl Lauterbach’s statements on “Hart aber fair”, but he refers to democratic processes and does not want to pursue party politics in the question of mandatory vaccination. Thorsten Frei starts to grumble at the government for the last few meters until the general practitioner Anke Richter-Scheer redeems the politicians with the conclusion: “The mandatory vaccination is probably the ultimate ratio”. One thing is certain: to be continued on ARD. (Teresa Schomburg)