Merkel's husband blames Germans' laziness for low vaccination rate
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
    • Aviation
    • Bazaar
    • Budget
    • Industry
    • NBR
    • RMG
    • Corporates
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
    • Book Review
    • Brands
    • Earth
    • Explorer
    • Fact Check
    • Family
    • Food
    • Game Reviews
    • Good Practices
    • Habitat
    • Humour
    • In Focus
    • Luxury
    • Mode
    • Panorama
    • Pursuit
    • Wealth
    • Wellbeing
    • Wheels
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • Videos
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • COVID-19
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Thursday
February 02, 2023

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Home
  • Economy
    • Aviation
    • Bazaar
    • Budget
    • Industry
    • NBR
    • RMG
    • Corporates
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
    • Book Review
    • Brands
    • Earth
    • Explorer
    • Fact Check
    • Family
    • Food
    • Game Reviews
    • Good Practices
    • Habitat
    • Humour
    • In Focus
    • Luxury
    • Mode
    • Panorama
    • Pursuit
    • Wealth
    • Wellbeing
    • Wheels
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • Videos
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • COVID-19
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
  • বাংলা
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 02, 2023
Merkel's husband blames Germans' laziness for low vaccination rate

Europe

Reuters
23 November, 2021, 06:35 pm
Last modified: 23 November, 2021, 06:49 pm

Related News

  • Twelve German troops injured in crash of Puma fighting vehicles - army
  • Forget 'autonomy': Europe needs the US as much as ever
  • Germany, US, to send battle tanks to help Ukraine fight off Russia
  • Twitter faces legal complaint in Germany over anti-Semitic content
  • US, Germany poised to send tanks to Ukraine, answering Kyiv's pleas

Merkel's husband blames Germans' laziness for low vaccination rate

Sauer, who until his retirement in 2017 was professor of quantum chemistry at Berlin's Humboldt University and seen as one of the field's top researchers, has been reticent to discuss politics throughout his wife's 16-year tenure

Reuters
23 November, 2021, 06:35 pm
Last modified: 23 November, 2021, 06:49 pm
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her husband Joachim Sauer arrive ahead of a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican October 7, 2021. REUTERS/Yara Nardi
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her husband Joachim Sauer arrive ahead of a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican October 7, 2021. REUTERS/Yara Nardi

Joachim Sauer, Chancellor Angela Merkel's academic husband, has blamed his compatriots' "laziness and complacency" for Germany's comparatively low vaccination rate, saying public rejection of science has never been as visible as now.

Sauer, who until his retirement in 2017 was professor of quantum chemistry at Berlin's Humboldt University and seen as one of the field's top researchers, has been reticent to discuss politics throughout his wife's 16-year tenure.

He has been reluctant to play the role of political spouse, declining to accompany her on most trips and largely limiting his public commentary to his own scientific research and his passion for the composer Richard Wagner.

But in Italy this week to be inducted into the Italian Academy of Sciences in Turin, he briefly addressed the issue that has dominated his wife's final two years in office.

"It's astonishing that a third of the population is not following scientific evidence," he told La Repubblica, as reported by its German partner newspaper Die Welt on Tuesday.

"Partly that's down to a certain German laziness and complacency. The other group is people ... who are reacting ideologically to what they think of as a vaccine dictatorship."

The fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic is the severest yet in Germany, with hospitals overflowing with the unvaccinated and initial vaccinations wearing off.

Some 68% of Germans have been fully vaccinated, lagging the proportions in Britain and France, let alone global leaders such as Portugal and Singapore.

Many health policy experts blame misinformation about the supposed danger posed by vaccines for the gap. For Sauer, the gap underscores the importance of attracting more young people to scientific careers.

"Science is important, and it would be good if more young people devoted themselves to it," he said.

World+Biz

Joachim Sauer / Germany / Angela Merkel / Covid-19 Vaccination

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • File photo
    Another shock for consumers as LPG price hiked to Tk1,498 per 12 kg cylinder
  • The by-polls to six constituencies witness a low turnout on 1 February. This picture was taken from a polling centre at Brahmanbaria-2 by-polls. Photo: TBS
    Why has the ‘little man’ gone missing in elections?
  • Indian billionaire Gautam Adani speaks during an inauguration ceremony after the Adani Group completed the purchase of Haifa Port earlier in January 2023, in Haifa port, Israel January 31, 2023. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
    Adani's market losses top $100 bln as shelved share sale spooks investors

MOST VIEWED

  • A local resident carry home staff from a house of his neighbour damaged by a Russian military strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the town of Hlevakha, outside Kyiv, Ukraine January 26, 2023. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
    Ukraine's new weapon will force a Russian shift
  • European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers a statement before her meeting with the Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi at the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium 7 March 2022 Kenzo Tribouillard/Pool via REUTERS
    EU chief arrives in Kyiv, says bloc 'stands by Ukraine'
  • NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg gives a news conference ahead of a NATO Defence Ministers meeting in Brussels, Belgium October 11, 2022. REUTERS/Yves Herman
    NATO chief wants more ‘friends’ as Russia, China move closer
  • U.S. and Ukrainian flags are pictured prior to the start of the UUkraine Defense Consultative Group meeting hosted by U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, at U.S. Airbase in Ramstein, Germany, April 26, 2022. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
    US firm offers Ukraine advanced drones for $1
  • File Photo: Russian Army. Photo: Reuters.
    Russia 'acquiring features of dictatorship' after Ukraine invasion: study
  • Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen arrive at a joint news briefing, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine February 1, 2023. REUTERS/Viacheslav Ratynskyi
    How long will it take Ukraine to join EU?

Related News

  • Twelve German troops injured in crash of Puma fighting vehicles - army
  • Forget 'autonomy': Europe needs the US as much as ever
  • Germany, US, to send battle tanks to help Ukraine fight off Russia
  • Twitter faces legal complaint in Germany over anti-Semitic content
  • US, Germany poised to send tanks to Ukraine, answering Kyiv's pleas

Features

Six Jeep Wranglers and a special XJ Jeep Cherokee set out into the depths of Lalakhal, Sylhet for an experience of a lifetime. Photo: Ahbaar Mohammad

Jeep Life Bangladesh: A club for Jeep owners to harness the power of their vehicles

6h | Wheels
While the Padma bridge in operation is changing the lives of millions in the south for the better, passenger rush to Shimulia ghat died down. Photo: Masum Billah

How are the Shimulia ghat businesses faring after Padma bridge?

8h | Panorama
After so many investments going embarrassingly wrong, as was the case with Sam Bankman-Fried, perhaps tech investors’ preference for less experience will wane. Photo: Bloomberg

Are you the next Steve Jobs? Good luck raising money in 2023

8h | Panorama
An elderly couple's lonely battle to save Dhaka's trees

An elderly couple's lonely battle to save Dhaka's trees

1d | Panorama

More Videos from TBS

Is Hathurusingha the most successful coach of Bangladesh?

Is Hathurusingha the most successful coach of Bangladesh?

21h | TBS SPORTS
Semiconductor, pharma should get more attention

Semiconductor, pharma should get more attention

23h | TBS Round Table
Dhali Al Mamun’s art depicts colonial impact

Dhali Al Mamun’s art depicts colonial impact

22h | TBS Stories
Jewel's humanitarian store

Jewel's humanitarian store

20h | TBS Stories

Most Read

1
Bapex calls candidates for job test 9 years after advert!
Bangladesh

Bapex calls candidates for job test 9 years after advert!

2
Leepu realised his love for cars from a young age and for the last 40 years, he has transformed, designed and customised hundreds of cars. Photo: Collected
Panorama

'I am not crazy about cars anymore': Nizamuddin Awlia Leepu

3
Photo: Collected
Energy

8 Ctg power plants out of production

4
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, U.S., September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File Photo
Economy

IMF approves $4.7 billion loan for Bangladesh, calls for ambitious reforms

5
Photo: Collected
Court

Japanese mother gets guardianship of daughters, free to leave country

6
Fund cut as Dhaka's fast-track transit projects on slow spending lane
Infrastructure

Fund cut as Dhaka's fast-track transit projects on slow spending lane

EMAIL US
[email protected]
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2023
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - [email protected]

For advertisement- [email protected]