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Friday, January 1, 2021
“Hold on for a few more months”
The heads of the country ask for patience despite the start of vaccination
The 2020 pandemic year is over, vaccinations have begun, but several prime ministers ask the population to persevere. Ahead of Tuesday’s federal-state summit, discussion about the shutdown is accelerating.
Before the next crown crisis summit, politicians urge citizens to be patient. Like Chancellor Angela Merkel, several prime ministers also called on people to persevere in their New Year’s speeches, despite the hopes generated by the start of vaccination. Before the federal-state talks on Tuesday, it became clear that the population would continue to face significant restrictions. Meanwhile, Mainz-based company Biontech is working hard to expand vaccine production.
In his New Year’s speech, Bavarian Prime Minister and CSU head Markus Söder emphasized the still dire situation in the corona pandemic: “We are currently experiencing the second wave, some even predict a third wave.” The news of mutated corona viruses caused great concern. The head of government of Baden-Württemberg, Winfried Kretschmann of the Greens, warned: “We all still have a dry streak ahead of us. We will have to hold out for a few more months.” Heads of government also spoke of the hopes associated with the launch of corona vaccines.
Chancellor Angela Merkel also called for perseverance in her speech broadcast on New Year’s Eve. “These are difficult times for our country, and they will be for a long time.” At the same time, however, he emphasized: “For a few days, hope has faces: they are the faces of the first vaccinated.”
Merz wants to open schools
Bundestag President Wolfgang Schäuble called for “balanced decisions” at the summit on the Corona crisis. The CDU politician warned in the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung” that with the Corona measures, “it remains central that the executive watches over the responsibility of the individual and relies on the greatest possible freedom.” It is “almost impossible to prevent all corona deaths by law.”
In Germany there is a strict lockdown until January 10. On Tuesday, the country’s leaders want to discuss with Chancellor Merkel whether the crown’s protective measures should be extended.
Before the summit of the crisis, CDU presidential candidate Friedrich Merz warned against renewed and longer school closings. The schools should “reopen as soon as possible,” said Merz of the Funke media group. He would like the group of heads of government to proceed as uniformly as possible. Above all, it is not the economic damage caused by the closure, but the massive damage to our children’s education caused by the closed schools.
Biontech is expanding capabilities
Meanwhile, the Mainz company Biontech, according to its own information, is working at full speed to develop new production capacities for the corona vaccine. “Right now it doesn’t look rosy, there is a hole because there are no other approved vaccines and we have to fill this gap with our vaccine,” Biontech chief Ugur Sahin told “Spiegel”. But Germany “will get enough vaccines.”
The lack of vaccine is also related to the EU purchasing policy, Sahin said. “Many other companies were supposed to come with vaccines. Apparently the impression prevailed: we will get enough, not everything will be so bad and we have it under control. I was surprised,” said the head of Biontech.
The idea of the EU and other governments to put together a basket of different providers actually makes a lot of sense, explained Biontech’s chief physician Özlem Türeci. “At some point, however, it turned out that many of them cannot deliver on time. So it was too late to place large orders elsewhere.” Increasing production in the short term is “anything but trivial,” Sahin said. It’s not like “as if there are specialized unused factories all over the world that can produce vaccines of the required quality overnight.”
