The chairman of the Swiss Vaccination Commission, Christoph Berger, was kidnapped at the end of March. The 59-year-old doctor announced this in a personal statement. “The kidnapper had me in his possession for a good hour. During that time, he confronted me with a demand for a substantial amount of money,” Berger wrote.
With the statement, the head of the department of infectious diseases and hospital hygiene at Children’s Hospital Zurich confirmed media reports that Berger was found in connection with a shooting in Wallisellen, in the canton of Zurich. As reported, canton police wanted to arrest a 38-year-old German last Wednesday suspected of threatening and kidnapping an unidentified person at the time. When investigators found the alleged kidnapper, he shot his 28-year-old girlfriend and then opened fire on officers. They shot back and killed the man.
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Newspapers linked the kidnapping to Berger’s role as head of the vaccination commission during the pandemic. As an advocate of vaccination, the doctor was exposed to much hostility from the camp of crown skeptics. According to Berger, this narrative contradicts his personal experience during the kidnapping. Upon meeting the aggressor, only his economic interests were in the foreground. After Berger assured the kidnapper that he would comply, the kidnapper released him.