In his new film “The Pandemic of the Untreated”, physician and TV presenter Eckart von Hirschhausen provides insights into the suffering of those affected by long-Covid. In the talk by Sandra Maischberger, he also sharply criticized the Paul Ehrlich Institute. By Arian Yazdani Kohneschahry
There is hardly any talk about the pandemic at the moment. Even with “Maischberger. Die Woche” the corona virus was no more than a side issue on Wednesday. But this time it was not about the possible next wave of corona or the conflict between the federal and state governments about stricter measures in autumn. It was particularly important to moderator and doctor Eckart von Hirschhausen to talk about the fate of those people who have been neglected since the beginning of the pandemic: long-Covid patients.
Eckart von Hirschhausen on “Maischberger. The week”
“There are people who just don’t get well after an infection,” said Hirschhausen there. Typical symptoms are an “incredible exhaustion, which hardly exists in this way” and disorders of the nervous system, which means that those affected can no longer even stand up straight without the cardiovascular system going crazy. In these people, the infection causes their own immune system to fight the body, the doctor explained.
Eckart von Hirschhausen had already made a first film that gave an insight into the suffering of these people. “The first film evoked so many reactions – especially from the families of those affected – that this second film became necessary.” He also met those affected for his second film “The Pandemic of the Untreated”. “These people opened their doors and their hearts to me to say, ‘Why can’t you see us? Why isn’t the pandemic happening anymore?'” Hirschhausen reported.
Unclear data and experimental treatment options
How many people are affected by Long Covid is difficult to say. This would also be due to the fact that the survey is difficult because the symptoms can be very different. Eckart von Hirschhausen estimates the number of patients in Germany at several hundred thousand. However, there is one group among them that particularly worries him. It’s about those who have long covid broke out after the corona vaccination.
A short excerpt from the film, shown on “Maischberger”, showed the serious illness of Louis, a young man who contracted Long Covid after the second vaccination. Since then he has been at home almost exclusively and suffers from heart muscle inflammation and tachycardia. “It hurts incredibly. You sit quietly, watch TV or even sleep – and suddenly your heart is completely racing,” said the patient. A cell phone video showed him clutching his chest, breathing heavily and his face contorted in pain. It felt like stabbing him in the chest with a knife.
Patients like Louis are rarely seen in society. “In principle, we are suspending the topic – including the Paul Ehrlich Institute, who don’t want to know anything about it,” complains Eckart von Hirschhausen. There are simply no contact points for those affected. If you need help, you have to look for it of your own accord – and finance it yourself. There are treatment methods, but these are experimental and are not funded. For Eckart von Hirschhausen this is absurd. “That shouldn’t be the case in our solidarity-based healthcare system.”
“I am for maximum transparency”
According to the doctor, the topic of long Covid, especially in connection with the corona vaccination, should not be exploited indiscriminately in the media, but belongs in a “scientific-journalistic framework”. “We have to talk openly about the fact that everything that works can also have side effects.” Otherwise he fears that the willingness to vaccinate would also suffer in the future. Even if the long-Covid patients are a comparatively small group, they should not be left alone. Eckart von Hirschhausen wants to continue fighting for this.
