Status: 11/16/2021 9:31 a.m.
The high number of infections is fueling the discussion about a partial vaccination requirement – also among the possible traffic light coalitionists. There is still no clear line, but the supporters’ voices are getting louder.
With the possible future government partners SPD, Greens and FDP, the debate about a partial vaccination requirement continues to smolder. After the Green Party leader Katrin Göring-Eckardt announced yesterday that an agreement had been reached and shortly thereafter rowed back, the SPD Chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz encouraged further discussion of the issue. “I think it is right that we have now started a discussion about whether this should be done,” said the executive vice chancellor on Monday evening at the economic summit of the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”.
Just talking about whether there must be a corona vaccination for certain occupational groups such as employees in nursing homes is a clear statement – the SPD, Greens and FDP have deliberately opened this debate. Scholz said at the same time that compulsory vaccination for certain professional groups was only possible if there was a consensus “that many want to participate”. “When that is achieved, I think that’s a good thing,” he said. Such a decision could also be made at short notice.
Schneider: Focus on facilities
The parliamentary manager of the SPD, Carsten Schneider, also spoke out in favor of a partial compulsory vaccination. However, one must focus on the facilities and not exclusively on specific professional groups. “There was an incident in a home with many dead in Brandenburg, but Corona was not transmitted by the nurses, but by the service staff,” said Schneider in the Deutschlandfunk. “That means that we do not have to prescribe such a mandatory vaccination in relation to work, but in relation to the protection of facilities. If that is possible, I also believe that it can be done.”
Meanwhile, the deputy FDP parliamentary group leader Michael Theurer is open to the issue. “The fact is: We have now agreed on extensive measures – the home office obligation, the 3G rule in buses and trains and also at work,” said Theurer in the joint Morning magazine from ARD and ZDF. “And personally, for example, I can certainly imagine compulsory vaccinations for certain professional groups.” We still want to talk about this point today.
“And then unvaccinated people jump around”
Different voices come from the associations and unions. The trade union for education and science rejects compulsory vaccination for certain professional groups. “The way out of the pandemic is only possible through a high vaccination quota in the entire population and appropriate behavior in order to protect yourself and others,” said GEW chairman Maike Finnern to the “editorial network Germany”. At the same time she emphasized: “The GEW rejects compulsory vaccination for certain professional groups.”
In contrast, the chairwoman of the Rhineland-Palatinate family doctors’ association, Barbara Römer, clearly called for mandatory vaccinations for medical staff. “People think they are protected in the medical field, and then unvaccinated people jump around,” said Römer of the dpa news agency.
Constitutional lawyer Christian Pestalozza also called vaccination compulsory in certain cases. Pestalozza told the “RND” with reference to the “fundamental right to health”: “If the small relief measures to combat the pandemic are not enough, politicians are even constitutionally obliged to take stricter measures such as mandatory vaccination.” And if a job-related compulsory vaccination is not sufficient, even a general compulsory vaccination is permissible.
However, the topic has so far not been part of the reform of the Infection Protection Act, which the traffic light parties are pushing to resolve this week. The Bundestag is due to vote on the change in the law on Thursday.
Consensus on mandatory vaccination in the Bundeswehr
A suitability of the traffic light parties for mandatory corona vaccinations in the Bundeswehr seems to be easier. “In my opinion, the corona vaccination should be included in the basic immunization for soldiers. We can all expect to have to live with corona pathogens for a long time,” said the SPD defense politician Siemtje Möller of the dpa. “Especially in this critical situation of the pandemic, in which the Bundeswehr is increasingly being asked for official assistance, our soldiers can be sent quickly and safely to where help is most needed.”
At the request of the dpa, the Greens said that soldiers already had to tolerate certain vaccinations and that this had been widely accepted in the Bundeswehr for years. “In this respect, the inclusion of the corona vaccination in this catalog would not be unusual and only logical,” said the Greens defense expert Tobias Lindner. “I very much hope that the troops will quickly come to an agreement on this with the participating bodies. In view of the fact that the Bundeswehr’s operational readiness is affected by corona infections, the vaccination also makes sense in terms of security policy.”
The FDP defense politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann spoke out in favor of introducing the corona vaccination for soldiers and civilian employees. At the same time, she pointed out that the vaccination quota in the armed forces of the Bundeswehr is over 80 percent and thus well above the national average.