"We can try to do the best, but we cannot prevent things from being dramatised, misunderstood or misinterpreted," explains health minister Paulette Lenert  Romain Gamba/archives

"We can try to do the best, but we cannot prevent things from being dramatised, misunderstood or misinterpreted," explains health minister Paulette Lenert  Romain Gamba/archives

Are you satisfied with the vaccination uptake rate so far?

Paulette Lenert: Yes, it could have been worse. In any case, we see good uptake so far. Even to be vaccinated voluntarily with AstraZeneca, we were at 25,000 registrations very quickly.

Don't you fear a capping effect from a certain vaccination rate?

I can understand that at the beginning the first people to be called might have been more hesitant. But even among these, for example in the health professions in the first phase, there were still 1,000 who signed up after the fact--as we give them that possibility.

And we communicate a lot. Campaigns continue on social networks. I believe that is having an effect. So I believe in being optimistic and not complaining until you see. Maybe it will be a success from start to finish.

Are you worried about the uptake potential of young people?

It's always a balance of risks that is done. For an elderly, vulnerable person, their risk of dying from covid or having complications is much higher than that of a young person. So the young person asks more questions, that seems logical to me.

[As a reminder] the EMA [European Medicines Agency, editor's note] clearly believes that this balance of risks is positive. Although it varies by age group, of course ...

Do you target young people in particular in your awareness campaigns?

We adapt communication according to the phases, to be more or less in line with the reality of the vaccination campaign. At first, it was more about the elderly. Now, we are speaking more to young people.

Do vaccine scepticism or conspiracy theories hold an important place in Luxembourg?

There are, we are following them, but I have the impression that this trend is less developed than in other countries. I hear very little about it around me. Even the protest movements remain fairly manageable. There are a lot more people on the streets in Germany, France or Belgium. It remains rather calm here, I find.

Weren't you shocked by the appointment of Christianne Wickler as chairman of the board of directors of Cargolux by a minister of the coalition, while she ran a site about covid, Expressis-Verbis, with a conspiracy leaning?

One could say not pleased. The controversy that this sparked of course leaves a little bitter taste... And that's not helping at the moment. I would like to have calm, neutrality.

But, objectively, I find that we should not mix everything up. What matters is whether she is qualified for the job for which she was appointed. In her job, she is not going to talk about covid. I believe that people are free to have their opinion in their private life.

It would be weird to dismiss her on the grounds that she is expressing her opinion. Shouldn't we name someone because they have an opinion against the government? Where are we? This is dangerous, it is reasoning that has no place in a selection process either.

Communication is very delicate about vaccination. When you announced, at a press conference, three suspicious deaths, potentially linked to the vaccine, many took the shortcut by establishing a direct link...

Yes, it’s very difficult. The shortcut that was done, people are doing it in their heads. Three deaths from the vaccine, that's not it, but explaining it to a general public is tricky... It's a complicated matter, not everyone is an expert in vaccines. I believe that it is almost impossible to communicate in such a way that the general public understands everything correctly. It is an aspiration that we can have, we can try to do the best, but we cannot prevent things from being dramatised, misunderstood or misinterpreted...

Is this the inevitable consequence of transparency?

Topics must be discussed, they must not be hidden. I admit that I don't have too many regrets about it. Somewhere, you have to realise that there is a risk, and deal with it. If we want to be transparent, we have to assume that it can be distorted.

Read part one of the interview here

Stay tuned for part three of this interview... 

This interview was originally published on Paperjam and has been translated and edited for Delano.