Vaccination chief on the corona pandemic Could the measures have been relaxed earlier?
Christoph Berger, former President of the Federal Commission for Vaccination Issues, would "act even more cautiously" today when it comes to vaccination recommendations for Covid-19. This is what he says in a review of the coronavirus pandemic.
03.11.2024, 10:32
03.11.2024, 12:11
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- Christoph Berger emphasizes that vaccination recommendations, which primarily serve to protect others, are controversial and recommends reconsidering unnecessary measures in order to return to normality.
- He criticizes the continuing unequal treatment of vaccinated and unvaccinated people in the second winter of the pandemic.
- He advocates a faster elimination of such differences as soon as risk groups were sufficiently protected.
- Berger calls for the recognition and investigation of vaccine damage and is stepping down from the Federal Commission for Vaccination Issues at the end of the year.
"Of course those who want to be vaccinated should be able to do so. But recommendations that are primarily about protecting others and not yourself are difficult," says Berger in an interview with the SonntagsZeitung newspaper. "That's why there was resistance during the pandemic," Berger continues.
One question that Berger would be more concerned with today than back then is: which recommendations are no longer necessary and how do we get back to normality? Berger would also "think and communicate even more clearly in scenarios today, as long as many things are still unclear."
However, Berger also says that the measures were right at the beginning of the pandemic. They prevented deaths among people at risk and were supported by the vast majority of the population. It was "certainly right" to end the restrictions quickly. "Alain Berset was right to move forward quickly compared to neighboring countries."
Taking people with vaccination complications seriously
In the second coronavirus winter with different measures for those vaccinated and unvaccinated against Covid, this unequal treatment has become "increasingly difficult" for people who had a low risk of becoming seriously ill themselves. The Head of Infectiology and Hospital Hygiene at the University Children's Hospital Zurich adds.
"In retrospect, this could possibly have been stopped more quickly once people at risk had had sufficient opportunity to be vaccinated and the effect of the vaccination on transmission was only minimal."
In the interview, Berger also calls for people with complications following vaccination to be taken seriously. Such reports should be investigated and actual vaccination damage recognized. Clarifications on such reports are underway at the federal government. "Unfortunately, those affected will have to be patient until these are completed." However, serious side effects after a vaccination are "very rare".
Christoph Berger is followed by Christoph Berger
According to the SonntagsZeitung, Berger is leaving the Federal Commission for Vaccination Issues (Efik) at the end of the year, having already handed over the chairmanship to his namesake Christoph Tobias Berger from Basel. Christoph Berger is currently still a member of Efik.
Berger says: "At some point, enough is enough. There are new people who are willing to get involved and who are doing a very good job.
