Status: 08.02.2022 2:51 p.m
Federal Minister of Health Lauterbach has sharply criticized the suspension of compulsory vaccinations in the healthcare system announced by Bavaria. There is also a lack of understanding from the other federal states.
One day after Bavaria’s Prime Minister Söder announced that he would not initially introduce the nationwide compulsory vaccination in the healthcare system, criticism was pouring down.
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach spoke of a “very dangerous signal”. With his decision, Söder gives the impression that “the protest against the facility-related compulsory vaccination on the street (…) is more important than protecting people who are waiting helplessly for good care”. That cannot be the right priority and gives the impression that politics can be blackmailed.
At the same time, the minister emphasized: “We will work with everyone to facilitate implementation options.”
Misunderstanding from other federal states
Criticism also comes from the other federal states: Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s Health Minister Stefanie Drese said that she could not understand this step. It is “a policy at the expense of old people”. Even if there are still some questions to be clarified with the municipalities and care facilities, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania will implement compulsory vaccination, according to the SPD politician.
Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister Stephan Weil described Bavaria as a “completely unpredictable factor in the corona discussion” – and added: “The fact that even the implementation of a federal law is now being refused for the foreseeable future has a new quality.”
Baden-Württemberg’s Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann also expressed a lack of understanding. “Certain risks of this regulation were known when we decided,” said the Green politician in Stuttgart. The fact that unvaccinated nurses could leave their profession because of the obligation to vaccinate was something that had to be expected even before the decision was made in the Bundestag and Bundesrat. Kretschmann emphasized: “I just stick to the law.”
Berlin’s Governing Mayor Franziska Giffey announced that she wanted to implement the law differently than Bavaria. Berlin is sticking to the agreement “that all states and the federal government have made,” she told the news portal t-online.
On the other hand, Hesse’s Prime Minister Volker Bouffier called on the federal government to send the states guidelines for implementation. Otherwise, the head of government does not consider this vaccination requirement to be reasonably feasible at the moment, said government spokesman Michael Bußer.
Criticism from the VdK, understanding from the DRK
According to the president of the social association VdK, Verena Bentele, Söder’s initiative is damaging politics as a whole: “The fact that some politicians are now publicly calling for non-compliance with applicable law is contempt for democracy,” she said in an interview with t-online.
The Federal Government Commissioner for Disabled Persons, Jürgen Dusel, called for moderation. Everyone should “take a step back” and “shift down a gear,” said Dusel. He was in favor of the institution-related vaccination requirement. But it must also be ensured that “the supply situation is not damaged”.
The President of the German Red Cross (DRK), Gerda Hasselfeldt, also expressed understanding for Söder’s decision. in the rbb info radio she said there were too many unanswered questions. “That’s the deficit we have to complain about today.” For example, the question of liability has not been resolved if unvaccinated staff continue to be employed until the health department decides whether they are allowed to enter the facility.
CSU Minister speaks of “nonsense”
Bavaria’s Health Minister Klaus Holetschek rejected Health Minister Lauterbach’s criticism: The accusation that Bavaria was being guided by the protests of those unwilling to be vaccinated was nonsense. “If the federal government had pushed ahead with general vaccination more resolutely, we wouldn’t have the discussion today.”
The aim is to always ensure the care of patients and those in need of care. According to Holetschek, the federal government should follow the Bavarian path and support an implementation moratorium. “This time should be used, among other things, to clarify the implementation and interpretation issues that are still open and to set up a nationwide digital reporting channel.”
The law on partial vaccination was passed by the Bundestag and Bundesrat in December and stipulates that employees in health and care facilities must present proof of vaccination by March 15th. If they don’t do this, the health authorities have to decide what to do with those affected.