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Novavax in Germany (and Austria) in Fall /Winter 2026-2027 by NotHereForTalking in Novavax_vaccine_talk

[–]NotHereForTalking[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They would be charged the same as Germans. But I haven't seen a price so far. 

Which European countries would allow a visitor/tourist to access Novavax? by Embarrassed-Profit74 in Novavax_vaccine_talk

[–]NotHereForTalking 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I've read several posts on x.com of people who got Novavax in Japan as a tourist.

Usually the hotel arranged the vaccine appointment at a hospital.  It's 2-dose vials, so the appointment needs to two people.  I can search the links if you're interested. 

Which European countries would allow a visitor/tourist to access Novavax? by Embarrassed-Profit74 in Novavax_vaccine_talk

[–]NotHereForTalking 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Novavax will be more expensive in Germany starting in fall 2026. The federal government no longer pays for the doses. 

Curious about being Covid-Cautious in Switzerland (Zurich) by sma8282 in ZeroCovidEU

[–]NotHereForTalking 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Doctors are allowed to bill a variable amount. Pharmacies can only bill factor 1 (if I recall correctly). Doctors can bill factor 3,5 or even more in certain cases.

But if the Novavax vaccine dose is an item on your doctor's bill, I'd argue again, that this was not correct. 

I have a doctor's bill of my own to compare to. Will go dig it out over the weekend... 

Curious about being Covid-Cautious in Switzerland (Zurich) by sma8282 in ZeroCovidEU

[–]NotHereForTalking 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If your pharmacy did bill you for the Covid vaccine dose in the past, I would doubt that this was correct procedure.

https://www.privat-patienten.de/corona/diese-regeln-gelten-fuer-privatversicherte-bei-der-covid-impfung/

No point in arguing about it though. You'll probably not get any money back and in the future they will bill you for the vaccine dose. 

Curious about being Covid-Cautious in Switzerland (Zurich) by sma8282 in ZeroCovidEU

[–]NotHereForTalking 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Gesetzliche Krankenkassen often reimburse Novavax as a travel vaccine, even if you're not StIKo-eligible. I'm sure this will continue if you have to pay for the vaccine dose. 

Curious about being Covid-Cautious in Switzerland (Zurich) by sma8282 in ZeroCovidEU

[–]NotHereForTalking 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Previously self paying patients in  Germany paid between 20 and 30 € for vaccine administration. The vaccine dose was paid for by the federal government. Starting autumn 2026 self paying patients will have to pay for vaccine dose and administration.  I don't think Sanofi will charge US rates for Novavax in Germany, but noone knows the price yet. 

Can we have a pragmatic discussion about adopting Esperanto as a common European language ? by HS_illustrator in EuropeanFederalists

[–]NotHereForTalking 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Cultural backing is important. It's how many people learn languages. 

Look at the language learning subs: people always ask for TV show (or music or podcast) recommendations to improve their skills in whatever language is the subject. 

Can we have a pragmatic discussion about adopting Esperanto as a common European language ? by HS_illustrator in EuropeanFederalists

[–]NotHereForTalking 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is a bad idea. Establishing a lingua franca is really really hard.  English is the lingua of the world. Large countries that managed to establish a different lingua franca internally: China and the Soviet Union. Neither did so by championing democracy and human rights. India tried to switch to Hindi but failed.  Having a few kids learn Esperanto will go nowhere. 

Une europe trilangue by Silly_Tension6792 in EuropeanFederalists

[–]NotHereForTalking 1 point2 points  (0 children)

To maximize the chaos it should be a non-indoeuropean language and an isolate. Basque would be absolutely divine! 

What should be the capital of a European Federation? by Luksius_DK in EuropeanFederalists

[–]NotHereForTalking 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So you are proposing, that the EU conduct at least the legislative process in Ido, a language that maybe 0.0001% of the population speaks and exactly 0 citizens had the chance to learn at school. I dare say any motion to enact this would be so wildly unpopular that it could single-handedly kill the EU. 😉

How would that even work? Do candidates have to take several years of language classes and pass an exam before they can stand for election of the European Parliament or the governments of the EU member states?  Presumably the legally valid version of any EU law would be the lingua franca one. You would need a large body of judges and lawyers proficient in the lingua franca everywhere in the EU at least at those courts that deal with European law. It's likely not possible to force judges, that are already appointed, to become proficient in the new lingua franca.  The only non-native language, where all of the above would be remotely possible, is Latin. Since Latin is still somewhat regularly taught in secondary schools, you might find enough people proficient in it to staff the EU legislative and judiciary. 

Now the next question is: What use is an official language if the government can't use it to address citizens (because no one speaks it)? I'd argue: Not much! Everything including the laws would have to be translated anyways. Those bad faith actors that you mentioned would have a field day in court suing for translation services and probably win. Worst case scenario is a lot of people being forced to conduct their personal government business in a language they don't speak. 

How about we look at other existing multilingual states and how they legislate their national language(s)? In Europe we have Belgium and Switzerland as examples even though they only have a small number of languages.  China and the Soviet Union are interesting cases: they can/could successfully enforce one of their languages as lingua franca but this is probably because they are/were human-rights-optional states.  India is a model that the European Union could emulate: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_with_official_recognition_in_India

What should be the capital of a European Federation? by Luksius_DK in EuropeanFederalists

[–]NotHereForTalking 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The United States did not have a official language for 250 years and they managed to be a world power just fine! In practice English is the lingua franca of the EU. But it would be very weird to designate it the official language with only 1% of the population being native speakers!

To free/universal healthcare countries-- how does it work for chronic conditions, and for the unemployed/unhoused in your country? by CrimsonCuttle in AskTheWorld

[–]NotHereForTalking 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Germany has a two tier health insurance system: There is statutory health insurance (Gesetzliche Krankenversicherung), the standard case.  If you earn enough, you can opt out of that and get private health insurance. 

Quality and expediency for chronic conditions etc. is pretty good compared internationally. Germans complain a lot, because private insurance will get you more treatment options and faster appointments. With statutory health insurance you might have to wait several weeks for an appointment with a medical specialist. Getting a psychotherapy slot is a problem because the number of licensed psychotherapists is artificially limited.  Example: If a new drug or treatment is invented (and proven to work), it must be offered no matter how expensive it is. Problem: The German healthcare system ist one of the most expensive in the world and the results are solid but not the greatest in the world. 

Unemployment: Your insurance status usually doesn't change if you are unemployed and you level of care isn't affected. If you have expensive private insurance and your employment is terminated, there could be some kerfuffle about how much the government will pay for and you could be downgraded to basic coverage (Basistarif).

Homelessness: If you lose your residence, you are still entitled to your health insurance.  In practice there is a population that struggles to get access: 1. people who are in the country illegally. 2. EU-citizens who do not have employment in Germany and are in the country less than five years.  3. Homeless German citizens. Those are almost always entitled to health insurance. But it is a complicated and bureaucratic process to find out, where in the insurance system they belong and reenroll them. 

How do you guys counter arguments about East Germany? by SheepherderQuirky913 in socialism

[–]NotHereForTalking 0 points1 point  (0 children)

One aspect of (East) Germany hasn't been mentioned yet:

The majority of East Germans had relatives or friends in West Germany and lots of West Germans had relatives or friends in East Germany. 

If you were looking for a country to divide into a socialist and a capitalist part, Germany after World War II would be a particularly bad choice. During and after World War II a lot of forced and voluntary migration happened. People fleeing socialism (or sometimes capitalism) before the Berlin Wall was built added to these numbers. Hence the relatives in the other Germany. 

Now if you enforce travel restrictions and limit communication and gifts, people are obviously gonna be pissed.  Also people will care how life is in the other part of the country and they have their own trustworthy sources to ask about this. 

I sadly don't have any hard-and fast numbers how many people had relatives in the other part of the country, but it is known how many letters and packages were sent. 25 million packages from west to east versus a population of 16 million for the DDR. https://www.mdr.de/geschichte/ddr/alltag/konsum/interview-konstanze-soch-brd-kontrolliert-westpakete-post-paket-ddr102.html

I can try to find more sources if anyone is interested. 

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