Merkel tells unvaccinated to get jabbed

Merkel tells unvaccinated to get jabbed

"Angela Merkel" (CC BY 2.0) by indeedous

German Chancellor Angel Merkel tells unvaccinated to get jabbed as a duty to society.

Speaking at the invitation of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at an Asia-Pacific business summit, Merkel said that as the fourth wave of Covid takes hold people must understand they have a duty to protect not only themselves but also others. She said she understood concerns but that it was the task of politicians to make the case for serious interventions by being honest with the public.

Coronavirus case numbers have surged across Europe in recent weeks, with experts worrying that health systems risk once again being overwhelmed, in part because unvaccinated people are still spreading the disease. Many of the unvaccinated are in age groups that are statistically likely to experience less severe cases of Covid-19, but they can and do pass the virus to older people and those with compromised immune systems. That in turn can lead to their being hospitalised even if they have been vaccinated.

Speaking via video link she said “We have to make it clear that I have the right to get vaccinated, and that is a very fortunate, a huge achievement of science and technology. But I also have an obligation to contribute to the protection of society.” As reported in Reuters.

Merkel, who was being interviewed by Microsoft president Brad Smith, added that the challenges of the pandemic and of climate change were similar, since they were both exponential processes. In both cases the severity of these challenges was hard to recognise at the start of a growth curve, putting politicians, scientists, professionals and society in general on the back foot. That also means everyone has to work together and to play their part in tackling and overcoming the issue, suggesting that people have a duty to get jabbed.

“When you see the start of an exponential increase you have to act immediately, and an understanding of what exponential means isn’t widespread in our societies,” Merkel said.

“That’s also why we have been so unconcerned about climate change – that also has exponential growth and we have to act at a time when it is not at all visible how the numbers will grow.”


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Written by

Peter McLaren-Kennedy

Originally from South Africa, Peter is based on the Costa Blanca and is a web reporter for the Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com.

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