Compulsory vaccination – the word of the hour, heatedly debated. Here are the most important facts and voices on the scientific, legal and political situation.
A year ago, Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) wrote on social media: “There will be no compulsory corona vaccination.” One counts on voluntariness and reason. In view of the precarious situation, Germany is now debating such an obligation. An overview.
Why is the call getting louder and louder afterwards?
Because, according to the unanimous view of science and politics, the relatively high proportion of unvaccinated people is the reason for the fourth corona wave – and a fifth wave is looming. Clinics in Bavaria, Saxony, Thuringia and in metropolitan areas are already overloaded.
“At least 90 percent of the people in this country must have immunity in order to be able to control it properly,” explained the President of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Lothar Wieler, a few days ago. Currently, 68 percent of the total population have basic immunization through vaccination (double vaccination).
What does science think of duty?
“There is really no one who would like to have a mandatory vaccination,” said RKI President Wieler on ZDF. “But if you’ve tried everything else, the WHO says: Then you have to think about compulsory vaccination.”
The World Health Organization published a paper on this in April. In it she emphasizes that politics must convey the benefits of vaccination in order to promote acceptance and voluntariness. A general compulsory vaccination must be ethically carefully weighed – and can only be the last resort.
Would a general compulsory vaccination be constitutionally possible?
Yes. The federal government has the legislative competence for this, and constitutional lawyers see it as legally possible. The competence of the federal government arises from Article 74 of the Basic Law (GG). Accordingly, he can enact laws for measures against “publicly dangerous and communicable diseases”.
“Such a general compulsory vaccination is quite justifiable – to protect the lives of other people,” said constitutional lawyer Ulrich Battis from the Berlin Humboldt University of the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung” on Tuesday. He referred to Article 2 of the Basic Law, which lays down the right to life. The right to physical integrity has to subordinate it, so Battis.
However, there are also voices who believe that milder measures have not yet been exhausted and that a general vaccination requirement is currently disproportionate and therefore unconstitutional.
What is the state of the political debate?
A facility-related vaccination will probably come – for employees and visitors, for example in nursing homes. She is also being discussed for clinics and daycare centers. Before Christmas there should be a compulsory vaccination, says SPD parliamentary deputy Dirk Wiese.
The rejection of a general compulsory vaccination, represented by the previous federal government, is becoming increasingly fragile. Several Union Prime Ministers and Baden-Württemberg’s Green Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann are now in favor.
The acting Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn does not consider the current debate to be expedient. “It does not solve our acute current problem,” he said on Deutschlandfunk. “We’re not breaking this wave with a mandatory vaccination.” Because the effect would come much too late.
How would compulsory vaccination be implemented in practice?
Hardly anyone has answers to that. On the contrary. There are unanswered questions about the implementation of such a measure, said Spahn. One thing is clear: it is about a duty – and not a compulsion. For those who refuse to be vaccinated, a fine or legal regulations for the loss of health insurance coverage are conceivable, said Bielefeld law professor Franz C. Mayer to the editorial network Germany. Prime Minister Kretschmann also considers a fine to be possible. Nobody would end up in jail or be picked up by the police for vaccination.
What effects can compulsory vaccination have on previously unvaccinated people?
It could change the attitude of anti-vaccination opponents, says the Marburg social psychologist Ulrich Wagner. Part of the population has walled itself in with the belief that it will not be vaccinated. In this “bubble” this opinion is constantly being affirmed and strengthened. Compulsory vaccination would bring a new argument into play – both for one’s own convictions and for the group. “The external compulsion would be an excuse.”
The head of the Institute for Interdisciplinary Research on Conflict and Violence at Bielefeld University, Andreas Zick, on the other hand, sees the danger of further radicalization of the minority opposed to vaccination – and at the same time a dwindling understanding of it.
There is a milieu that “can no longer be convinced by any arguments,” he told the TV broadcaster Phoenix. It is not yet known exactly to what extent these radical groups are forming a new extremism. Due to the radicalization and a lack of willingness to understand, the solidarity values for these people in the rest of society are falling, according to Zick.
What if there is no general compulsory vaccination?
Everyone will become immune – whoever decides against a vaccination “will inevitably become infected”. The virologist Christian Drosten said that in May. But this would probably go hand in hand with high numbers of sick and dead people.
In addition, according to Wieler, a fifth wave can be expected “if the reduction in contacts and the vaccination are not intensively successful”. Charité infection immunologist Leif Erik Sander says: “We can only get normality through immunity – and only through vaccination across the board.”
What about the measles vaccination?
This has been in effect for certain groups since March 1, 2020. When starting daycare or school, the parents must prove that the offspring is vaccinated or already immune. Daycare centers are not allowed to accept unvaccinated children. Schools are not allowed to exclude children, but fines of up to 2500 euros can be imposed on the parents.
The measles vaccination also applies to educators, teachers and child minders if they were born after 1970; Elderly are classified as immune. Before the introduction of compulsory vaccinations, according to the RKI, 97 percent were vaccinated once and 93 percent twice against measles during the school entrance examinations.
Have there already been other compulsory vaccinations?
Yes. In the Federal Republic of Germany there was a compulsory vaccination for diphtheria and partially scarlet fever (until 1954) as well as one for smallpox. The latter was gradually lifted by 1983. In the German Empire, the vaccination certificate had to be presented to her when she started school.
In the GDR, various vaccinations were mandatory for children and adolescents over time, for example against tuberculosis, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough and measles. Children could only go to day nurseries or day-care centers if they had all had mandatory vaccinations. You also had to prove this for studies or certain professions.
Source From: Stern
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