The corona vaccination obligation for nursing and hospital staff can come. The Federal Constitutional Court has dismissed urgent applications from several plaintiffs who – mostly unvaccinated – work in such facilities. It published its decision on Friday. The so-called occupational vaccination obligation comes into force on March 15; some federal states – especially Bavaria – are threatening to suspend them for the time being.
The court did indicate formal concerns about the specific version of the vaccination requirement. In principle, however, there are currently no fundamental constitutional objections to a facility-related compulsory vaccination “as such”. From the point of view of the court, the possible formal error in the law does not justify suspending it for the time being.
Because the disadvantages of a temporary waiver of the obligation to vaccinate would be considerable: Old and sick people with a weakened immune system would be exposed to a significantly greater risk of becoming seriously or even fatally ill. According to the experts, it can be assumed that vaccinations provide relevant protection against infection, albeit significantly decreasing over time – also with a view to the omicron variant of the coronavirus.
The purpose of the partial vaccination is to protect people who are at high risk of contracting Covid-19 – for example the elderly. It applies to employees in clinics and medical practices, in nursing homes, rescue or nursing services, but also for midwives or physiotherapists. According to the law, they all have until March 15, 2022 to prove that they have been vaccinated or have recently recovered. Exceptions are possible for people who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons. If there is no proof, the health department investigates the matter and can prohibit the person concerned from continuing to work.
Dozens of constitutional complaints have been filed in Karlsruhe against the occupational vaccination requirement. The judges have now decided on several urgent applications. The main proceedings, in which the law will be examined comprehensively, are still pending. In the urgent procedure, it is only weighed up which consequences would be worse: to leave the partial vaccination obligation in force, although in the end the constitutional complaint proves to be justified? Or to override the partial vaccination requirement if it later turns out to be constitutional?
Irrespective of the outcome of the procedure, there is a fierce political dispute about the implementation of partial vaccination: Many states are demanding uniform regulations from the federal government – so far in vain – for the implementation of the law, for which they are actually responsible. Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) has therefore announced that he will first suspend the law in Bavaria. He gets support from the CDU; the federal government, supported by the SPD, Greens and FDP, has severely criticized his announcement.