Vaccination debate with Anne Will (ARD): "I can see major upheavals in Germany"

At Anne Will’s, the guests discuss the current Corona measures – and how the vaccination debate can divide families.

Berlin – “Get vaccinated, if you haven’t done it yet, let yourself be boosted,” appealed Hubertus Heil (SPD) at one point in Anne Will’s ARD talk directly into the camera. The acting Federal Minister of Labor transformed a template by Cornelia Betsch, who, as a professor of health communication, referred to the importance of uniform political communication.

In general, the guests at Anne Will (ARD) largely agreed. The question was debated which measures can depress the currently high corona numbers again – and whether the 2G and 3G regulations decided on Thursday (November 18, 2021) by the Conference of Prime Ministers and the mandatory vaccination in the care sector to curb the new ones Autumn wave is enough.

Anne Will (ARD): Corona measures are “not enough for a long time”

“It was warned from science,” complains the virologist Melanie Brinkmann to Anne Willl in the ARD – and explains that the recently decided measures such as 3G in the workplace in particularly affected regions such as Saxony, Thuringia and Bavaria “are not enough for a long time”. There you have to “take consistent countermeasures” and limit “infectious incidents”. “The main problem is the high rate of non-vaccinated people,” says Brinkmann. “Everything must be done to get the first and second vaccinations on the street.”

The Saarland Prime Minister Tobias Hans (CDU) sees it similarly. Because the protective effect of the vaccination is decreasing more and earlier than hoped, the booster vaccinations must now be boosted. “Get all people who are able to vaccinate to vaccinate,” demands Hans, also veterinarians and dentists: inside could give a vaccination. “The most important thing is the signal to get vaccinated”, agrees Hubertus Heil – and gets the approval of the ARD presenter Anne Will: “Absolutely.”

Compulsory vaccination debate with Anne Will on ARD

In between, the FDP politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann broadens the perspective and sees “unimaginably large social problems” in the shadow of the pandemic fight. “Cracks run through entire families,” explains the member of the Bundestag, and warns of social upheavals that “we will see in years.” . “The majority actually think the measures are good,” says Cornelia Betsch, but many citizens are irritated by the “inconsistent communication”.

Anne Will im Erste’s general vaccination recommendation initiated a discussion about a comprehensive corona vaccination requirement, which has long been categorically excluded by politicians. The CDU member Tobias Hans thinks that this is “not the debate that we need now.” He sees more education and mobile vaccination teams as a solution and a discussion about mandatory vaccination as “not appropriate”.

“I think it fits,” countered the moderator Anne Will, and asks what is more divisive: the introduction of mandatory vaccinations or their non-introduction? The debate always offers a social explosive. “What we are seeing at the moment in terms of the division into vaccinated and unvaccinated people is a burden for many,” explains Cornelia Betsch. Especially among the unvaccinated are “very many who have lost confidence in the government.”

Corona situation in Germany Topic at Anne Will (ARD): “Time is running away for us right now”

“Time is running out,” Melanie Brinkmann warns at the end. You have to act with foresight and use all the tools we have, so also talk about compulsory vaccination. “We have to reduce infectious contacts,” says Brinkmann, and even then it will be “terrible for our health system.”

A gloomy picture that shines Strack-Zimmermann in a social light: “I see great upheavals in Germany,” says the FDP politician, and is interrupted by Anne Will, who wants to pass on the “Tagesthemen”. The discussion continues until the microphones are turned off. Despite all agreement, there was still a need to speak. (Christian Horn)