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Corona or flu? Since hardly any tests are being carried out anymore, it is difficult for the family doctor to make an assessment. In any case: off to bed. © dpa bildfunk
There is no longer any testing – neither at home nor in the doctor’s office. But at the moment, many people are sniffling and coughing. Is it Corona? It would be nice to know. For the family doctor, the diagnosis is a blind flight.
Nachrodt-Wiblingwerde – It’s not just one or the other person who is sniffling and coughing and wheezing: many people are sick. But is it a cold, flu or corona? The 7-day incidence in Germany is 5.2 laboratory-confirmed Covid-19 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, in the Märkischer Kreis it is only 3.9. This value has remained fairly stable over the past four weeks – and says nothing. Because there is hardly any testing anymore.
Tests expired
Most of the tests that some people still have in a drawer at home have expired. And not many people make the effort to buy new tests. Why should they? Only those who want to be sure that they don’t infect their loved ones directly with Corona are taking care to bring the truth to light.
Doctors’ offices are also no longer testing. For general practitioner Matthias Hartig, it is almost a “blind flight” if he wants to find out which viruses his patients have contracted.
No complications
“That’s actually not possible. But: They are all mild illnesses, some are corona, some are not. But it is part of a normal summer flu, which is becoming more and more prevalent when the shooting festivals take place. When people celebrate big parties, everyone gets infected,” says Matthias Hartig. It is no different than usual. And corona is not currently causing any complications.
“Overall, people are obviously testing themselves less,” says the Nachrodt family doctor. A positive test has no consequences and doesn’t change anything. “Those who come with a positive corona test are not seriously ill, and thank God there are no complications at the moment, but the patients then have to stay at home, of course.”
Matthias Hartig definitely recommends vaccination against the coronavirus, even though the epidemiological situation of Covid-19 has changed significantly in the meantime. SARS-CoV-2 has moved from the pandemic to the endemic phase. But everyone should know that the virus is still circulating in the population.
Matthias Hartig adheres to the Robert Koch Institute
“The dominant omicron variants as well as the high level of immunity through vaccinations and infections in the population have led to significantly fewer severe cases and long-term consequences (such as long-/post-Covid) today than two years ago. This is also a success of the vaccination, which will remain important for protecting the population in the future,” says the Robert Koch Institute, whose guidelines Hartig is happy to adhere to.
The Standing Committee on Vaccination (Stiko) recommends an annual booster vaccination for particularly vulnerable groups of people, which should be administered in the autumn. Data on effectiveness show that the vaccination protection against serious illness usually lasts for at least twelve months. “People over 60 and those with chronic illnesses should get vaccinated, just as they do with the flu vaccination. We will offer this,” says Matthias Hartig.
New vaccine
There is also a demand for vaccinations. “I follow the RKI’s advice and give advice accordingly.” A new vaccine has just come onto the market – from BioNTech/Pfizer. The vaccine “Comirnaty JN.1” is specially tailored to the new corona variant.
“But we don’t have a final decision yet,” says Matthias Hartig, who didn’t have to throw away any vaccine doses last fall. Demand was still there.
However, hardly anyone is talking about Corona. “In fact, it is now proven in black and white that there was an excess mortality due to Corona in 2020 and 2021. Across Europe and most strongly in northern Italy and central Spain, later most strongly in Poland and the Czech Republic. A little less so here. But it is statistically proven, so the conspiracy theorists have been refuted,” says Matthias Hartig.
The mistakes in the pandemic
Of course, we know today that mistakes were made. But we had to make a decision in that situation. The fact that people died alone in hospital because no one was allowed to visit them and that children and young people were in isolation for an extremely long time are the worst things that the family doctor considers to be decisions made during the pandemic. That is why Matthias Hartig still treats mentally ill children and young people. “But you have to think about the situation the decision-makers were in. There was also a wrong decision in the other direction in Spain. It cost many lives. And it would have here too. You have to learn for the future, but not think backwards. I wouldn’t want to have had to decide that back then.”
