The virologist Christian Drosten receives the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. The award will be presented on October 1st.
On October 1st, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (64) will award 15 citizens with the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, including Prof. Dr. Christian Drosten (48). The motto of the award ceremony "United and there for one another" stands for "the extraordinary achievements with which the seven women and eight men have made themselves", it says in the message.
Drosten, the director of the Institute for Virology at the Charité Berlin, is "one of the leading scientists nationally and internationally who play an outstanding role in combating the corona pandemic," read the announcement. Drosten was able to identify the pathogen as a SARS virus very quickly and to develop evidence that was already available in January.
His podcast provides education
"He provided important and globally recognized insights into the infection process and communicated this to the public in innovative formats. The fact that his weekly podcast 'Coronavirus Update' was accessed more than 60 million times shows how great the need for, especially at the beginning of the pandemic well-founded and understandable explanation and education in the population was. " In addition to Drosten, the former professional footballer Thomas Hitzlsperger (38), the pianist Igor Levit (33) and presenter Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim (33) will be honored with the Order of Merit.