Von Der Leyen, the EU & COVID19:The German take the lead
Opinion policy analysis by Farah Termos, Contributor
February 6th, 2021
The coronavirus pandemic vividly took, and shook, the world by storm back in March of 2020. For as soon as it hit, the United States halted, Asia sealed its borders, and Europe took the worst hit of it all: with Italy recording the highest surges in Coronavirus cases and deaths at that time. Despite the vigorous first wave lockdown that the European land endured, restrictions eased until winter of 2020, and by January 2021, Europe once again took the lead in garnering the highest and most deadly numbers of cases since the beginning of the pandemic. The second wave became known as the “deadly era”, and Germany took the cake.
Germany during its first Coronavirus wave
The first case of coronavirus in Germany was reported on the 27th of January 2020, as well as the first two deaths near Berlin by the beginning of March. The deaths prompted the chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, to implement direct and strict responses to the surge in cases. Even before the World Health Organization declared the COVID19 wave as a worldwide pandemic, Germany aimed to succeed in fighting off the virus because of the national health institute, the Robert Koch Institute (or RKI), and other German agencies who immediately started gathering and analyzing as much scientific information about the epidemiology of the virus as possible, as of January. Dire domestic management of the crisis began as soon as Germany implemented a 4-stage plan to tackle the crisis: PREVENT-DETECT-CONTAIN-TREAT. Hence, from March until early May, Germany was able to prevent the crisis from evolving within German borders through the RKI’s quick studies regarding the virus. Then, detection happened through a rise in rapid testing capacity via PCR tests thanks to the Berlin Charite Hospital. Containing the virus seemed like a challenge due to the pig proportion of Germans aged 70 years and above within the country. However, this did not phase the country’s path to success in its first wave, and treating the virus seemed like an easy step to take due to healthcare planning, i.e. the ICU beds; and even with the lack of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), the German healthcare unit was yet to be phased.
Merkel Masks up //Photo Credit: Michael Kappeler, REUTERS
By summer, Germany saw itself easing lockdown restrictions and allowing its people to roam more freely within the country. A number of measures implemented by the German Authorities and regional governments led to the low number of cases in Germany’s first wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Some of these measures were but weren’t limited to shutting non-essential businesses’ doors, restricting the gathering of groups constituting more than 3 people, keeping minimal social contact, imposing some state-specific curfews, and closing borders to most countries.
Yet, Germany took a turn for the worst. How did it go from almost eradicating and successfully fighting off the virus, to now being completely overridden by deaths resulting from that same virus?
Germany Now: The deadly second wave
An extended ease in restrictions and the opening of borders in May led to harsh consequences regarding the virus outbreak, and by the end of August, Germany was back to how it was in April. Despite Merkels’ desire to tighten and implement a more rigorous approach in handling the virus throughout the last few months of 2020, schools and restaurants remained open – and by November of 2020, Germany reached 7 figures and hit the 1,000,000 mark, and so, another lockdown was implemented from the 15th of December 2020 and 25 days onwards. However, that did little in curbing and flattening the curve. For at that time, the UK’s mutant and more speedy strain made its way to Germany – and by the 14th of January, the country began reporting its highest numbers of daily deaths, with almost 1244 deaths recorded that day. By then, Germany hit the 2,000,000 mark of coronavirus cases. In addition to that, ICUs were flooded, hospitals were overwhelmed, and the country’s high number of high-risk individuals did not help with curbing the effects of the virus.
Right-wing Germans protesting against Coronavirus restrictions in August 2020 – Reuters
The EU, Germany and Covid19: what went wrong?
As soon as the pandemic hit, the European Union took strides in battling the virus’ outbreak, despite Europe being the world’s hot spot throughout March and April. By then, the EU had provided over 1 billion euros for the medical, social and economic recovery of the region. The European commission, alongside the World Health Organization (WHO), also provided over 30 million euros worth of medical appliances and laboratory equipment in an effort to curb the spread of the virus. However, by November, Europe was surging with coronavirus cases and implemented stricter measures to tackle the virus.
The last seconds of 2020: Vaccines and the EU
Between August and December came some vaccine-related resolutions adopted and approved by the European Commission. For instance, on the 27th of August, the EC formally signed (entry into force) its first vaccine contract with AstraZeneca, a British-Swedish pharmaceutical corporation head in England. By the 9th September, the EC then optimistically signed with Pfizer-BioNTech, a German-based pharmaceutical corporation – with almost 200,000,000 doses secured as a “first buy”. Furthermore, almost a month later, the European Commission signed with Janssen Pharmaceutica NV as part of another deal to secure more vaccine(s), with an initial buy of 200,000,000 doses – as well as securing a Gilead deal, with 500,000 treatment courses of Remdesivir, one of the only EU approved medicines used to treat COVID19 patients.
Moreover, by the 18th of November, the EC took speedy action in implementing rapid testing through the use of antigen tests, and by the 17th of December, EU chief Von Der Leyen announced that vaccinations will take place starting the 27thof December. This pushed the German government to stress and emphasize on the European Medicines Agency to approve the vaccine for rollout amid the rise in cases, since President Ursula Von Der Leyen announced to the members that the now-enrolled Pfizer/BioNTech Vaccination was being developed in Germany and would be available for use in a week’s time – earlier than anticipated, sooner than predicted and pressuring Germany to seize hold of vaccine rollout.
On the 21st of December, the EU authorized the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine. But all went downhill after that: with the start of the holiday season, and the delay in vaccine production and rollout, taking action was not going according to plan.
2021: EU sees a vaccination blockage
A shortage of EU vaccines wreaked havoc on Europe in January. By the 1st week of the month, the EU also approved the Moderna Vaccine – and by then, was able to secure over 2 billion doses of trusted vaccines for European countries and possible neighboring states. Almost 10 days later, the EU made strides and announced cap percentages for its populations to get vaccinated – with predicted numbers rising to almost 70% of adult EU citizens vaccinated by summer of 2021.
However, Pfizer-BioNTech announced a delay in vaccine deliveries and production due to the factory’s necessary upgrades. Later on, Astrazaneca, with a pre-order limit set by the EC at 400 million doses, announced another delay due to the lack of an upgraded manufacturing site – which is credited to reducing the doses promised to the EU by almost 60%.
Germany: where are we now?
Between September and November 2020, Germany, as a member state, issued a number of executive wide orders to tackle the effects of the coronavirus in collaboration with the European Union, Parliament and Commission. For instance, economically approved by executive VP of the EU, Margrethe Vestager, comes the German umbrella scheme that was aiming to help companies suffering from economic failures or shortfalls due to COVID19 – specifically tackling the fixed costs of firms, with an estimated budget at almost 30 billion euros, introduced in November 2020. Germany was also the leading European country in tackling coronavirus in its first wave throughout a series of firm closures, physical distancing measures and the implementation of strict lockdowns. Moreover, the country holds the location of the Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccination production, and in addition to that, Germany invested 500 million euros in enhancing ventilation systems back in October – in an effort to reduce the future strain resulting from the virus, that might put pressure on the health sector in the following months.
Yet, by December, Head of the RKI, Lothar Wieler, originally optimistic, feared what he described as the situation becoming “worse than what they could’ve anticipated it to have been”; but why is that so?
Germany & Vaccinations on ground
The health measures implemented by the RKI, from lockdowns to closing non-essential businesses were effective up until the second half of the year, where growing protests led by the The Querdenken 711 group in November, drew thousands of Germans on the ground – refusing to abide by Coronavirus measures. These growing protests eventually occurred in tandem with the highest numbers of deaths being recorded in Germany; and in addition to them, came the lack of social distancing around Halloween and the Holidays period, along with the already cold weather in the country – which all added to the second wave being the most deadly yet. This all in all pushed German authorities to emphasize on the need to start vaccinations as soon as possible.
By late December, Germany began introducing it’s first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Health Minister, Jens Spahn, later noted the slow speed of the vaccination run: as of the 25th of January, about 1,554,355 people were given the first dose, which is only about 2% of the entire German population. This was due to production delays from Pfizer’s end; yet, Spahn remains optimistic that it is likely that the entire German Population may be vaccinated when summer comes: it’s only a matter of pharmaceutical companies keeping their promise of keeping vaccinations afloat and being ready to give them to the public.
Other EU vaccination updates: a short roundup
The European member states, originally intended to take a united front against the coronavirus, implemented different measures towards dealing with the crisis – which is probably why Germany is now overwhelmed by COVID19 cases, and Switzerland, for instance, is doing better than before, yet the situation is still critical.
Switzerland
Throughout the overall sharp rise in coronavirus cases back in November in Switzerland, the Swiss health minister Alain Berset admitted that the ease in restrictions in summer led to a sharp rise in cases later on. However, the “Swiss way” to deal with the crisis was leading to individual accountability and canton-level responsibility to take over citizens as they stayed at home, put physical distancing measures in place, etc., claimed Berset. The FOPH, or Federal Office of Public Health, started just 4 days after the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination was authorized for vaccinating individuals steadily – and in the meantime, lockdown was effective. Furthermore, by the 24th of January, the Swiss health sector was able to administer just over 197,368 vaccination doses – also tip-toeing around the same percentage of those vaccinated in Germany (almost 2%).
Netherlands
Running on a shockingly late vaccination schedule in comparison to its neighboring European countries, the Netherlands gained local criticism, even from its past health ministers, in what seemed like a “chaotic” vaccination schedule that was deemed to cost people their lives. Nevertheless, the Netherlands was the last EU member state to begin administering doses to the Dutch public – and less than 200,000 people in total were given the first dose of the vaccine by the 20th of January.
Ans Lock van de Veen, 91, receiving her vaccination roundup in the Netherlands / / Photo credit: Peter Dejong
France
With France also suffering from a tough second wave, and now being at a 35% peak infection rate, it seems as if the French health sector is prioritizing vaccinations as the pandemic worsens, with French health minister Olivier Véran stating that the French authorities will continue to vaccinate until almost all of its population has taken the vaccine by the end of August 2021. Despite the massive vaccine-related skepticism in the country, there seems to now be an acceptance to what might look like the only solution towards France’s high number of deaths and coronavirus case numbers. By the 26th of January, the French were able to vaccinate almost 1,184,510 people, with a priority being given to high-risk adults.
Merkel et. al: Why the Germans need to step up!
Was the first lockdown not effective enough that even a second wave, literally 3 times as deadly, was inevitable? Was Merkels’ response to the crisis underwhelming? To keep it simple – No. It was not that the first lockdown was ineffective, or that Merkel, who endorsed prolonged tightened approaches to the coronavirus from the start, was unbeknownst of how to deal with the pandemic, but rather it was the behavior of the public, both in and out of Germany, that added to the rise and then fall and then rise in cases again. The mostly global ease in restrictions in summer and opening of borders led to the height in figures – but so did gatherings of people, lack of physical distancing, protests against the virus, and even lack of worn masks all led to what we are seeing today as a deadly wave overtaking Europe, and specifically, Germany.
Can Germany still succeed amidst the new roll of vaccinations given out to the public? Yes. It can be done right now, if only the public realizes the extent to which this pandemic has reached, and act accordingly – even with the vaccine being the light at the end of the tunnel, the behavior of the German can be that extra bulb that brightens Germany’s path to eradicating the virus completely. For the coronavirus is not a “politically conspired” subject – it is merely a medical, deadly and soaring pandemic that is killing millions of individuals.