BERLIN (AP) — Late last year — long before most people had heard of the new coronavirus now sweeping the globe — scientists in Germany sprang into action to develop a test for the virus that was causing an unusual respiratory disease in central China.
Meanwhile…Covidiot Trump’s promises about retail testing seems to be S-L-O-W…and not for public use yet!
Another Covid hype to coverup his pandemic unpreparedness…
Remember disbanding the WH pandemic Response Team because Obama…disregarding the pandemic documents at the 2016 turnover from Obama Admin?
Trumpy…you reap what you sow, so STOP gaslighting America and own up your incompetency and vindictiveness, then start from there. Otherwise, you will be the MOST BIGLIEST failure as POTUS!
The reason why we in Germany have so few deaths at the moment compared to the number of infected can be largely explained by the fact that we are doing an extremely large number of lab diagnoses,”
Limited testing also means the true spread of the virus is hidden in those countries — further fueling the outbreak.
If Americans are smart, we should learn from Germany or other countries that has less death rate or flatten the curve faster. This is REALLY NOT the time to have HUMONGOUS HUBRIS!
Gotta love German efficiency. That and the fact that they are, as a people, less inclined to the sort of head-in-the-sand, everything will work itself out, magical thinking that American’s like to indulge in.
That universal insurance thing was a huge part of the prep, imo, because people in germany were simply used to going to a doctor or clinic. First instead of last resort. Sure, it might have led to some “overuse”, but with really good demographic results.
(Years back, I had an uncle who was a doctor in then west germany; he worked at a sanatorium where other doctors would send people who had breakdowns, or who were just overstressed. Insurance would pay for it, and they would usually go back to their jobs/careers ready for another few years of grinding away. Imagine that kind of thing in the US. For everybody. Probably now the place is being used to isolate a bunch of Covid-19 patients; it’s there for the crisis because of the way the whole system was set up decades ago.)
experts said early on that fast and widespread testing gave Germany an edge.
There’s also the way they did and do the testing. You have reason to think you need to be tested, you call a hotline, where they ask you some qualifying questions. If they decide to test you, they tell you to go or stay home, and send a medical tech to you to take the sample. No travel while shedding virus, no sitting in a waiting room sharing lung globules with other sickos.
In my county west of Philadelphia, PA, we have tested a grand total of 1,829 people, out of a population of around 5220,000. So a test rate of .0003%.
SUPER.
I can’t wrap my head around what the argument against German type preparation ever were: clear as day now, any ‘costs’ were always outweighed by potential savings, regardless of what measure it’s evaluate by.
The level of negligence and disregard for warnings by this US government goes way beyond anything that can be justified by any reasonable measure. There is a clear case to be made for malice.
It’s Criminal Negligence!
There a very narrow law - Federal Torts Claims Act - that an individual can sue the govt…but very narrow because of sovereign immunity. The best hope we can have is that there will be a rigorous probe and send those lying SOB to jail!
Not a fair comparison… they do not have illegal immigrants/democrats/blacks in Germany.
There is something not mentioned in this article that is EVEN MORE IMPORTANT in Germany;
German Federal Law states that anyone who is sick (for any reason) MUST stay at home, with FULL PAY, and full protections for their job position. This is mandated by the German Workers Councils who negotiate all company employment contracts.
So, if someone is sick, they stay home. It’s a normal, everyday occurence for them.
Also, all German Publicly Traded Companies MUST have a full-voting seat on the Board of Directors for the Union Representative. This means the workers are heard and listened to, and have a say in everything that the Board decides. They also have free (or close to free) National Health Care (with additional private Insurance available as either a “job perk” or to those who choose to pay for it.)
In the USA, if you are sick, you either have to use what little “vacation time” you have to cover it, or you go to work sick. If you don’t have any “benefits” like that, you either go to work sick, or you starve.
With those two choices as the BASELINE, now you know why the Germans are handling this better than just about everybody else.
Might want to include a snark tag with your comment. Even on here I bet some readers won’t understand your intent.
Note the lack of spin, deflection and denial. In case anyone missed it, this is what real leadership looks like…decisions based on evidence, planning and preparation. In spite of this, they’ve been hammered.
Setting aside the snark, there was a story somewhere a few days ago that immigrant doctors in Germany helped out quite a bit with the pandemic. I hope that made some neo-nazis cry.
Ummmmm…not correct. We have no “National Health Care” here in Germany.
We are required to have health insurance. We have the option of selecting a “statutory” health plan (Krankenkasse) which is regulated by the government (think: adhering to requirements to be able to be on an Obamacare exchange) or private insurance (Krankenversicherung) such as DKV (Deutsche Krankenversicherung).
About 90% of Germans have chosen to be in one of the state-regulated Krankenkassen (IIRC there are circa 320 different ones) – my husband and I belong to Technikerkrankenkasse (English | TK if you’re interested in looking at their website, the link is in English), which is one of the largest. I pay about 800€ monthly to TK – my employer sends my (and their) contribution directly to the Krankenkasse for me (my husband’s employer doesn’t, so he has a monthly transfer set up for his contribution). We also have an extra (private) dental insurance (our Krankenkasse covers most basic stuff) for things like crowns or implants.
My annual tax forms have information over my contributions to the Krankenkasse, as I must show that I am covered.
One of the reasons why most Germans belong to a Krankenkasse as opposed to private insurance is because the state regulates, among other things, how much you will continue to contribute for your health care after retirement. Because I belong to a statutory Krankenkasse my contributions are limited by law to just under 15% of my retirement income. This is because I have, in effect, paid for my retirement healthcare “up front” – sort of like a pension plan. And similar to a pension plan you have to have paid in for a certain amount of time (think: be vested), so there is an age beyond which you cannot switch from private health insurance to a Krankenkasse – the importance of which you will see below.
So, private health insurance companies are not so tightly regulated – what they do is start off with much cheaper premiums when you are young, so you think, oh, yeah, why should I pay into the more expensive statutory healthy plan? They pretty much keep it down low until you are beyond the age to switch over, then start hiking up premiums. Had a friend with private insurance who ended up paying a significantly higher premiums after retirement than I will ever have to – but, of course, could no longer switch to the less expensive option of statutory health coverage.
But, basically, yes, we are used to staying home if we are sick because there is no limit to sick days, as long as your doctor signs an attest. You can call in for two days without a doctor’s note, after that your doctor will have to give you an attest (assuming you are legitimately sick and not faking it) for the period of time that should allow you to get well. The longest attest I have had was for 7 weeks (bad hand injury – right one, of course) and, of course, full pay…but that’s tied into the Krankenkasse as well…
My belief is that the Germans have taken this seriously from the beginning – hubby and I are now in our third week of working from home, and have at least two more to go. We have not had issues of megachurches, beach parties, etc. – i.e., people are following the guidelines and being careful.
And, of course, the additional hospital space that other countries (including some of Germany’s neighbors like France and Italy, who have sent some of their sick people to us) just don’t have. That’s played a very significant role.
When Freidrich Drumpf came to America, Germany was not sending its best.
For Pete’s sake, for how many news cycles will you keep harping on testing?
All my German colleagues were asking me why the US was not preparing for this back in January, like they were in Germany, and why the US is now making people lose their jobs, and then apply for “unemployment insurance”?
They tell me that Germany is guaranteeing jobs by underwriting the payrolls of companies that are struggling (even though not that many are in Germany) so they don’t lose them.
The UK is doing this also.
I have no answer for them, other than the fact that Workers are considered a necessary evil by US companies who take any opportunity to get rid of them.
I can anecdotally testify to the difference between the US and German citizenry.
I’m standing on a side street in Berlin, no traffic at all, no cars, absolutely nothing and people will still wait until the light changes to legally cross the street. That would never happen in NYC and probably in the rest of America. This individualism is usually our strength, maybe not so much in a pandemic.
Yes. Not saying everything is peachy keen here (and my German hubby will tell you all the things wrong with the health system here, and German social policy if you wanna listen ) but there’s been a lot of things done right.
Those of us who can work from home are doing so to the best of our ability (my colleagues with young children are trying to homeschool as well as do their jobs). When I got the email from my employer, they differentiated between essential personnel (like the gate guards at the institute I work at) who absolutely need to physically be there, those who can work from home (like me) and those who cannot work from home, because their job isn’t suited (think: canteen workers — no need for cooks or dishwashers — or lab assistants who have non-transportable lab equipment). Those who are essential have been advised and supported on health issues and extra precautions. Those like me who are working remotely were told to stay away, but if they need to come in for some reason, to keep it short and get the heck out (I had to go in for files I needed and had to identify myself at the gate). Those who are not able to work from home (“no tasks which could be completed”) are being paid their full pay because they are not at fault. IOW they are not wondering how to pay for food and rent.
Our Betriebsrat or Workers Council (all companies and organizations larger than, IIRC, 50 workers are required by law to have an elected group of employees who act sort of as an in-house “union”) has been negotiating things like childcare issues, sick leave, overtime and other such details with management and coming up with reasonable policies for the extent of the “not normal” state.
Small companies and shops (some of which have been shuttered now for weeks) are getting financial support during the closures.
So, yes, we have stress and cabin fever, but not the same kind of existential angst that is going on in the States.
Very nice description.
I have a friend who made that private coverage wrong decision when he was young and very much regrets it. I was lucky to have pretty good employer healthcare in the states but being so dependent on the job is a bad deal. Sure there is still waiting time for appointments and not everything is perfect but it really is quite good. And most importantly, everyone is covered. I had a heart attack and 2x bypass at a top clinic with no out of pocket costs. Probably needless to say, but I´d rather be here than in many parts of the USA right now. Sad but true. I`m hoping to escape the dzzz until there is a vaccine or at least until things are less crazy. Still not sure how realistic that is.