Berlin: compulsory vaccination for healthcare personnel and military | Abroad

In the German parliament, the measure was supported by 571 members of the Bundestag. There were 80 votes against and 38 MPs abstained. The Federal Council, composed of representatives of the governments of the sixteen federal states, unanimously approved the vaccination obligation.

The new German health minister Karl Lauterbach called it “absolutely unacceptable” on Friday morning that people in care institutions “die unnecessarily because they have not been vaccinated.” The measure is being taken to break the fourth corona wave, according to the minister.

It is not yet clear what the exact consequences are of refusing the vaccine.

Germany is following France, Italy, the United Kingdom and Greece with the measure. There, healthcare staff must also be vaccinated against the corona virus. If healthcare workers fail to do so, they will be dismissed or will be fined.

General injection obligation

Germany is also considering introducing a vaccination requirement for all adult residents of the country. That will be voted on later. That obligation should come into effect in February 2022. Currently, 69 percent of the German population has been fully vaccinated and 21 percent has received a booster shot.

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