Even before the third winter since the beginning of the corona pandemic, patient advocates still see glaring deficiencies in the protection of groups that are really at risk.

"The topic is burning under our nails. The situation for people who cannot protect themselves in inpatient and outpatient care for the elderly is still devastating," said Eugen Brysch, board member of the German Foundation for Patient Protection, the German Press Agency. The federal and state governments are not doing enough preventively on this topic. "In this respect, I don't see any significant improvements compared to previous winters," said Brysch.

In order to get ahead of the wave, the patient advocate in geriatric care considers a nationwide test regime with daily rapid tests and two weekly PCR tests to be appropriate in order to avoid virus introductions by staff and visitors. In addition, in the event of outbreaks in homes, external care teams are needed to provide support, and alternative quarters for non-infected people. "We don't have to do everything to fight the pandemic, we have to do the right thing," demands Brysch. "The group whose protection is particularly important includes around three million people."