The chairman of the World Medical Association, Frank Ulrich Montgomery, has criticized Merkel’s rejection of mandatory vaccination for certain professional groups as wrong. He thinks it is a “politically driven decision”. Merkel will change her stance.
The chairman of the World Medical Association, Frank Ulrich Montgomery, has criticized Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) for her no to compulsory vaccination for certain professional groups. He thinks their rejection is wrong. The discussion on the subject is far from “cleared” for him. He considers the no to be a “politically driven decision”. “They are afraid of election campaign times to remind a society of solidarity,” said Montgomery on Wednesday in the.
Montgomery can well imagine that – if the willingness to vaccinate in the population continues to decline – politicians will think again about compulsory vaccination. “Angela Merkel is a highly pragmatic woman who will then come to her senses and will certainly speak out in favor of compulsory vaccination.”
Montgomery laments low vaccination rates among nurses
Merkel had spoken out clearly against the introduction of mandatory vaccinations for health care workers. “We do not intend to take the path that France has now proposed,” said the Chancellor on Tuesday after a visit to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). France announced on Monday that health care workers were required to be vaccinated.
Nevertheless, Montgomery complained that the vaccination rate among nursing staff in Germany was too low. Those who are entrusted with patients must show solidarity in order to protect them, said Montgomery with a view to vaccination skeptics. “We have to ensure that all people who are responsible for patients who could theoretically infect these patients are themselves as well protected as possible so that they do not pass the virus on.”
“Where arguments don’t help, social duty helps”
However, anyone who strictly rejects a vaccination has to look for another job without direct patient contact in the health care system, where there is no risk of contagion to others.
In order to get the vaccination quota up, one now has to convince the vaccine skeptics, said Montgomery. “We now have to convince all the others who are there as vaccine skeptics. And we also have to approach those who we have known so far that they do not want to be vaccinated against anything if possible. Everything has to be countered with arguments and must try to to get them to get vaccinated. Where all arguments no longer help, a social duty sometimes helps. “
