Friday 10th December 2021
When corona vaccination comes
Lauterbach: “Nobody has to go to prison”
The new health minister believes that vaccination is inevitable. In view of the Omikron variant, he advocates such a regulation, especially for daycare staff. Lauterbach does not want to go to extremes with vaccination refusers: They should not face a prison sentence, but a fine.
The new Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach does not consider prison sentences for unvaccinated people to be necessary. “Nobody has to go to jail. But the imposition of fines is inevitable,” he told the “Spiegel”. “You have to talk to psychologists and economists about when penalties have an effect.” If someone does not pay, “the fines must be increased significantly. But I am sure that we will reach a great number of people just with the announcement of the general compulsory vaccination.”
Lauterbach also spoke out in favor of compulsory vaccination for educators. “According to all that we know so far, the new Omikron variant affects children much more severely than the previous variants. Children become infected more often and they are also more seriously ill.” That is why child vaccination is also becoming more important.
The minister also announced that he would like to make the nursing profession more attractive with economic incentives: “I could imagine that Sunday and holiday services for these important professions will be paid completely tax-free.” However, Lauterbach does not consider the proposal by Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder to double the salaries of intensive care workers to be very effective. “This would create a large wage gap between the nursing staff in the intensive care unit and in other areas. That will be difficult to convey. The proposal sounds better than it is,” said Lauterbach.
More staff for STIKO
As previously in the program “RTL Direkt”, Lauterbach announced that he wanted to accelerate the work of the Standing Vaccination Commission. “We will definitely hold talks about the speed of the STIKO,” said Lauterbach. “It has to be faster.” The STIKO definitely needs more staff, emphasized Lauterbach. He’ll make sure she gets it.
The STIKO had repeatedly been criticized for making its recommendations too slowly in view of the very dynamic infection process. Lauterbach had also often criticized the voluntary committee as a member of parliament. The SPD politician made it clear to the “Spiegel”: “Even if there is now a scientist in the ministry, the STIKO can still operate without any influence or pressure from the ministry. I am a politician and minister and have no recommendations to make STIKO must be completely free in their decision-making. “
At the same time, Lauterbach said he wanted to “make science the basis of political decisions more than before.” To this end, he will “work closely with a network of scientists so that they can play an even greater role in shaping politics.” The SPD politician described his appointment as Federal Minister of Health as a “gift”. “I was just happy,” he told the magazine. “The task is great. But it is also a gift.”
Less often as a guest on talk shows
Because of his new position, he wants to reduce his appearances on talk shows. “I will be on talk shows less often because I have to do a different job now,” said Lauterbach. Nevertheless, he will continue to do public relations. “In a health crisis in which the aim is to take the population with it, it is essential that the minister translate science and politics into everyday language.”
In response to criticism, including from within his own party, that he could not manage a large company like the Ministry of Health with around 750 employees, Lauterbach said: “I have some management experience. Even when I was quite young, I have a new one Institute for Health Economics and Clinical Epidemiology established at the University of Cologne. ” He has known the Ministry of Health for a very long time, “better than many others before he became minister”.