Full cafes and the return of thousands of fans to the football stadiums have pushed the corona pandemic into the background in many places.
The vaccination campaign is progressing; according to the Robert Koch Institute, 55 percent of Germans have full protection.
For many, the example of Great Britain shows that if there is sufficient immunization, the clinics will not fill up even if the incidence is high.
Is this the beginning of the end of the pandemic?
Johannes Pennekamp
Responsible editor for economic reporting, responsible for “Die Lounge”.
Follow I follow
Niklas Záboji
Editor in business.
Follow I follow
Above all, the sectors that have recently been particularly affected are pushing for a change of course towards a responsible life with the virus. The background to the demands is obvious: in the hotel and catering industry, for example, according to a survey published on Monday, every fourth company is facing the task, according to the DEHOGA association. In view of the move by Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) to plan restrictions for the fall, the industry is appealing to proportionality. There is hardly any risk of infection outdoors, which is why it should be possible to host even larger events again in autumn, according to the German Schaustellerbund. "We have supported the measures up to this point, but it is enough",said its vice-president in the direction of the federal-state conference.
Are politicians not interested?
But the chorus of those who warn against careless handling of the virus has not stopped. This also includes economists. They fear that new virus variants will spread and the declining vaccination rate will be underestimated. Nora Szech, Chair of Political Economy at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, is very disappointed in politics with a view to the vaccination campaign. “It all reminds me of last summer. You haven't learned anything and are wasting a lot of time again, ”she criticizes. This is shared by Andreas Peichl, who heads the Center for Macroeconomics and Surveys at the Munich Ifo Institute. He has the feeling that “a large part of the decision-makers in German politics are neither interested in scientific, evidence-based advice nor in a long-term strategy”.Researcher Szech is annoyed that tests for unvaccinated people will be charged, which according to her studies will "drastically" reduce the willingness to test. The behavioral economist also criticizes that unvaccinated people are not motivated with stronger incentives.
“Free sausages are all well and good, but you can reach a maximum of 5 percent of the population with them. That's not enough, ”says the economist. She has long been demanding that each person vaccinated be paid 500 euros, which, according to her research, enables a vaccination rate of up to 90 percent. Szech considers the costs associated with a premium to be justified. Data from the Ifo Institute showed that the community saves 1,500 euros per vaccination because the health system is relieved and people are more able to work.
For Rüdiger Bachmann, economics professor at the American University of Notre Dame, the pandemic has not yet lost its horror - and measures to increase the vaccination rate are inevitable. "Up to now there has been far too little focus on economic incentives, that must finally change," says Bachmann. Unlike Szech, he thinks it is right to charge for tests as planned by Spahn. It is also right to deny access to restaurants and concerts to non-vaccinated persons with higher incidences. Germany is too squeamish compared to America. “There are universities in America where you can only enroll if you have been vaccinated. Why don't we do it the same way in Germany? ”Asks Bachmann.