The corona situation in Germany is becoming more and more dramatic, which is why the guests at “Hart aber fair” discuss with Frank Plasberg about mandatory vaccinations.
Cologne – At the federal and state level, decisions are imminent this week that concern an adjustment and possibly tightening of the corona rules. Reports from the negotiations of the traffic light coalition are currently causing confusion, as the statements of individual political representatives are regularly relativized or withdrawn.
The discussions revolve around an expansion of a 3G regulation or 2G regulation to all areas of society such as public transport. But the most explosive question is whether a compulsory corona vaccination should be introduced for everyone or for certain professional sectors such as health care.
“Hard but fair” (ARD) with Frank Plasberg: no lack of strong opinions on Corona
With the sentence “There is no lack of strong opinions”, Frank Plasberg introduced his current program “Hart aber fair” on November 15, 2021 on ARD. And with that he was right, because none of his guests moved from their position in the course of the evening or avoided the relatively heated argument. Svenja Flaßpöhler, the philosopher and editor-in-chief of Philosophy Magazine, and the emergency doctor and pandemic officer for the Tübingen district, Dr. Lisa Federle, the journalist Georg Mascolo and the immunologist from the Leibnitz Institute for Labor Research in Dortmund Prof. Dr. Carsten Watzl. The Prime Minister of Lower Saxony and SPD politician Stephan Weil were also involved from Hanover.
| Guests at Hart but fair | |
| Stephan Weil | Prime Minister Lower Saxony, SPD |
| Georg Mascolo | Journalist, Süddeutsche Zeitung |
| Lisa Federle | Emergency doctor and pandemic officer |
| Svenja Flaßpöhler | Philosopher, editor-in-chief of philosophy magazine |
| Carsten Watzl | Immunologist, TU Dortmund |
Everything revolved around the question of whether the introduction of mandatory vaccination was sensible or nonsensical. Federle was not very sympathetic to the arguments of the vaccination opponents. Often the word “freedom” comes up when people speak out against vaccination. But freedom also brings responsibility. Specifically, the current problems became apparent, for example, in the fact that in view of the increased number of infections, patients beyond Corona would miss important treatment measures.
There was a shortage of emergency doctors and important checkups were being postponed. For the consequences that arise from this, people are to be blamed more or less directly who did not have themselves vaccinated and thus do not cheat into getting the infection numbers under control.
“Hard but fair” (ARD): Unvaccinated people endanger those who have been vaccinated against corona
The statements by Stephan Weil in “Hart aber fair” (ARD) also came to the same conclusion. Currently it is the case that the 20% of adults who resisted being vaccinated determine the remaining 80% of society. They endangered those who did everything possible to protect themselves. In order to protect the vaccinated, the unvaccinated must be restricted. By restricting the possibilities of the unvaccinated, so that they can move freely or take advantage of certain offers, for example, they increase their daily effort.
With this, Weil hopes, they will finally notice that their “behavior is not okay”. Because of this, Weil particularly advocates stricter measures such as the introduction of the 3G rule at work or in public transport. However, he considers compulsory vaccination to be difficult to enforce because it would have to be constitutionally examined at length.
In the opinion of journalist Georg Mascolo, it was a massive mistake in politics to rhetorically rule out compulsory vaccination as a measure since the beginning of the pandemic. This has aggravated the attitude of many people. He himself believes that the introduction of a compulsory vaccination should be avoided as long as possible, because this is perceived as abusive behavior by the state on people.
Exclusion of the Corona-Impflicht by politics a mistake, it says with “Hart aber fair” (ARD)
The decision to make vaccination compulsory for smallpox in the 19th century a big step, explained Mascolo. The vaccination skepticism has persisted and has even increased in recent years. The immunologist Watzl interjected this even though vaccinations had become increasingly safer.
Watzl confirmed in “Hard but fair” that a lot of people are very afraid of the vaccination. In most cases, it is because they believe false rumors about possible health problems. Much of what is said about long-term effects on social media is untrue. There is a lot of uncertainty. But with a vaccination, he explicitly stated, one is safer. “The risk for unvaccinated people to come to the intensive care unit is 10 times greater than for vaccinated people”, was one of the key phrases in “Hard but Fair”.
The broadcast
You can look up “Hart but fair” from November 15th in the ARD media library.
The philosopher Svenja Flaßpöhler interjected that everyone had to weigh up the risks individually. It is wrong to criminalize vaccination opponents, as is currently the case. It is wrong to declare all vaccination opponents as a group to be stupid just because they do not want to be patronized. Political failure is passed on to them and they are denied the right to self-determination. The disease does not affect everyone equally, and that is why you have to be able to choose which benefits a corona vaccination would bring you personally, said Flaßpöhler. She cited as examples that people are also given responsibility in other areas, such as riding a motorcycle, which can be dangerous, or even smoking.
Corona: Philosopher Flaßpöhler calls for personal responsibility for “Hart aber fair” (ARD)
But with this comparison she met with little approval from those present and got caught in the crossfire. Federle, who accused Flaßpöhler of trivializing the topic, and Weil pointed out that the extent of the risk to a third party must always be considered. Apart from the fact that bans have been issued in the case of smoking in order to appreciate other people against the damage caused by nicotine influences, as Federle noted, Corona is – as yet – not a private matter.
Watzl explained that a vaccination against Corona might be a private matter in two to three years, namely when people would still be infected and die while the disease was defeated as a pandemic, but currently it is about that not all infected at the same time and thus overwhelmed the system.
Watzl advocates compulsory vaccination for health care personnel. In addition, as Weil argued, it will probably result in a lockdown for unvaccinated people, as is already the case in Austria or France. Federle added that German politics should finally act, so far one has only wasted time with endless discussions. (Teresa Vena)
