Despite the ventilation tubes in her nose, the patient gasps for air in the hospital bed.

In addition to their breathing sounds, only the beeping of medical equipment can be heard.

Her wheezing sounds more and more strained.

It sounds like someone is trying to pull air through a valve that is way too narrow.

Pleadingly, the woman's gaze swings from left to right.

"Why is nobody helping me?" Her eyes seem to say.

Her eyelids close for a moment as she tries another breath.

Then she looks into the camera and directly in the direction of the viewer.

A hard swallow later, the screen goes dark.

This is followed by a message in white letters, while the gasping of the woman can be heard in the background: “COVID-19 can affect anyone.

Stay at home.

Let yourself be tested.

Book your vaccination. "

Till Fähnders

Political Correspondent for Southeast Asia.

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The drastic video commissioned by the Australian government is currently being shown primarily in the greater Sydney area. The metropolis of millions is currently struggling with a sharply rising infection curve. On Monday, the state of New South Wales, to which Sydney belongs, reported 112 new infections, one of the highest daily values ​​to date. A woman over 90 years old who was infected in her family died as a result of COVID-19, making her the first person to have been infected locally since the beginning of this wave. After Australia had the virus well under control last year thanks to strict border closings and quarantine rules, the more contagious Delta variant is now causing uncertainty. So far, 31,000 infections and 911 deaths have been reported across the country since the beginning of the pandemic.

Sydney is currently experiencing its third week in a tightened lockdown, which has been extended to Friday this week for the time being. The streets of the metropolis, which were otherwise busy during the pandemic, are now deserted, the schools are empty, people have curled up in their apartments, which they are only allowed to leave to buy groceries or to do some other absolutely necessary activity. State prime minister Gladys Berejiklian warned the city's five million residents that they were facing "the greatest threat since the pandemic began." No wonder, then, that Prime Minister Scott Morrison's central government sees the time for a startling message.

Nevertheless, there was also criticism of the "tactless" video clip. Some saw it as an unnecessary "fear campaign" that worked with the dramatization of a horror film. Jessica Kaufman, an Australian scientist who researched people's vaccination readiness, even warned that the clip could have the opposite effect that it was supposed to trigger. According to her, drastic images like this also fuel fear of possible side effects of the vaccines. The fact that the video shows a young woman appealing to those who are not vaccinated is also criticized. Because for the age group under 40 it is currently extremely difficult to get the right vaccine in Australia.

Australia originally relied primarily on the vaccine from the manufacturer AstraZeneca, which is only recommended for people aged 60 and over in Australia due to the low risk of blood clots in people of younger age. According to Prime Minister Scott Morrison, younger people can also get the vaccine after consulting their family doctor. But many shy away from this risk. As Morrison made clear in an interview with the broadcaster “Sky News”, the request for vaccination is only part of the message that the video clip is supposed to get across. The other is the warning to obey the lockdown measures. According to the Prime Minister, a lot of young people in Sydney have not complied with the requirements.

However, the government has also done its own part to ensure that just eleven percent of Australians are fully vaccinated today, significantly less than in other industrialized countries. Since the number of infections had remained manageable for a long time, she had taken her time with her vaccination campaign. Ultimately, she was also unlucky because, in retrospect, she might have opted for the “wrong” vaccine. Now she is hoping for a turnaround in this regard. Pfizer / BioNTech will deliver 40 million doses of vaccine by the end of the year, some earlier than expected, according to the government. With the plan to vaccinate one million doses of Pfizer a week, the government wants to get closer to its goal of having at least one vaccination available to every Australian by the end of the year.This is one of the reasons why the campaign with the horror video comes at exactly the right time, according to Prime Minister Morrison.