The first court cases against the manufacturers of the Covid-19 vaccines are currently starting in Germany. According to the plaintiffs, the vaccine caused them to suffer serious side effects, and they now want to be compensated for it. While I don’t want to deny the plaintiffs their side effects, I see the lawsuits themselves as problematic.

Firstly, one must consider that any vaccination carries the risk of side effects, some of which can be very severe. However, this risk is accepted for the good of the general population. It’s similar to what every road user does. The benefit exorbitantly outweighs the risk, but a risk always remains. This is not concealed and is known with every vaccine approval. Consequently, the vaccine manufacturers are not liable for these; they have not deceived anyone or negligently risked human lives. This is as it should be, otherwise all medications would disappear from the market.

The situation with the Covid-19 vaccination campaign was, as we know, somewhat unusual. The vaccines were approved through an accelerated process. What exactly was accelerated here is unknown to me. In the end, however, the Standing Committee on Vaccination (Stiko), on behalf of the German state, approved the vaccinations. Perhaps processes were compressed, but I am not aware of any steps being negligently skipped at the behest of the manufacturers. If anything, the Stiko is at fault here; the approval was deliberately granted through an accelerated procedure, also taking risk and benefit into account.

Or one could denounce the politicians and the government. And honestly, the media and society as well. A great deal of pressure was built up throughout Germany to get vaccinated. The unvaccinated were excluded from public life and stigmatized by their social and media environment. Pharmaceutical companies and citizens were actively pushed to provide and use the vaccines. Although the success was less and more sluggish than desired, many Germans were persuaded to get vaccinated as a result.

What surprises me, however, and what inspired the title, is the fact that we have an excessively high number of vaccine side effects in Germany. As of the end of March 2023, 13.3 billion Covid-19 vaccine doses had been administered worldwide. With 192 million doses, Germany’s share is 1.44%. The same vaccines were used in all countries for the most part, at least in the Western world, that’s quite certain. However, of the 2,817 reports of vaccine side effects worldwide, 1,547 come from Germany. Even though it’s obvious, I quickly calculated it: 54.92% of all reported side effects from Covid-19 vaccinations occurred in Germany.

I have no idea what’s wrong with us Germans. We now expect someone else to always take responsibility for us and our lives. Any deviation from the norm is met with a loud outcry, and the truly important issues are forgotten in favor of brief uproars. Opponents of gender-neutral language, refugees, and other hot-button topics stir up strong emotions. Nobody cares about the broken education, pension, and healthcare systems. Well, probably too complex and too long-winded. That would require seriously engaging with a topic instead of just getting worked up about it.