Debate about sanctions: Federal states do not want to punish truants

The majority of the federal states are against sanctions for people who do not attend an agreed vaccination appointment. Only Baden-Württemberg is considering making this a criminal offense.

The federal states are predominantly against sanctioning people who do not attend an agreed vaccination appointment against the coronavirus. Only Baden-Württemberg is currently considering this if the appointment is not expressly canceled, as reported by the Berlin “Tagesspiegel”.

The other state governments wanted to rely on additional vaccination offers. The Ministry of Health in Stuttgart, however, wants, according to “Tagesspiegel”, that those responsible bear the costs if the planned vaccination doses have to be destroyed because the appointment has not been canceled.

The federal government wants to “motivate”, not “deter”

However, a legal basis would first have to be created, the newspaper continues. This is also the reason why the other federal states reject fines or cost sharing for truants.

The federal government has already positioned itself against it in the debate about possible penalties if vaccination dates have expired. “We want to motivate and not deter,” said a spokesman for the Federal Ministry of Health. Government spokesman Steffen Seibert also pointed out that in this sense there are already a number of easing and easing measures for vaccinated people.