The procedure for introducing a general obligation to vaccinate has come to a standstill. Contrary to what was originally envisaged, the corresponding draft laws are not to be debated in the Bundestag next week. The learned this Southgerman newspaper from the factions of the traffic light coalition. The reason for this is that one of several cross-party group motions being prepared by FDP politician Andrew Ullmann is not finished in time. Ullmann and his comrades-in-arms want vaccinations to be compulsory for people over the age of 50. This means that the first reading in the Bundestag will only be possible in more than a month, in the week of March 14th.
Supporters of the group application for compulsory vaccination from the age of 18, many of whom can be found in the SPD, were irritated. The coming week of meetings as the start of the legislative process was clearly the goal, it said. “It’s not up to us if the bill doesn’t start next week,” SPD faction leader Dagmar Schmidt told the SZ. “We’re on the last legs with the draft.” The draft will be presented in the next few days. Jessica Rosenthal, SPD MP and Juso boss, told the SZ: “We have to come to a conclusion. It’s not good for society if the decision is postponed further.” She also wants compulsory vaccination for adults.
Her group drew on the expertise of the Ministry of Health, which is led by Karl Lauterbach (SPD). Lauterbach wants general vaccinations, but his ministry is also helping Ullmann and other parliamentarians formulate their draft laws. Experts expect that the current corona wave could reach its peak in mid-February, which should underline the need for action. Conversely, if the number of cases dwindles in the coming weeks, a general obligation to vaccinate in mid-March could appear superfluous.
The FDP parliamentary group, to which Ullmann belongs, defended the approach. “To date, there is still no finished draft law,” said Johannes Vogel, the first parliamentary secretary of the FDP in the Bundestag. The subject was never officially on the agenda for the coming week of the session. However, the parliamentary groups said at the end of January that they were aiming for a referral in the Bundestag in mid-February. Vogel said the goal shared by everyone to complete the entire deliberation process in the Bundestag in the first quarter is “unchanged and achievable”. For this, the legislative process would have to be completed in the two session weeks until March 25th.
In the dispute over the introduction of compulsory vaccinations for healthcare workers, Bavaria now wants to introduce the law a little faster than recently announced by Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU). Bavaria still thinks the introduction of facility-related compulsory vaccinations is a good idea, said State Health Minister Klaus Holetschek (CSU) on Thursday on Bayerischer Rundfunk. However, their introduction will be postponed by a “few weeks” because many questions are still open. Söder, on the other hand, had spoken of “the most generous transitional regulations” on Monday, which “de facto initially amounted to a suspension of enforcement”.