The example of Austria apparently sets a precedent in the EU: EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke out yesterday in favor of the examination of a general corona vaccination requirement in the European Union: “We should possibly think about a mandatory vaccination in the EU,” said the studied doctor yesterday in Brussels. She justified this with the spread of the new Omikron variant and the fact that a third of EU citizens, around 150 million people, have not yet been vaccinated against the virus.
The compulsory vaccination is “a discussion that needs to be conducted,” said von der Leyen. A common approach in the Member States is needed. The decision, however, is the responsibility of the respective national governments. “We have the life-saving vaccines, but they are not used in sufficient quantities everywhere,” said the CDU politician. This would result in enormous healthcare costs for society.
Germany: sharper pace
In Germany, compulsory vaccinations are to be initiated this year and will apply from March 2022. Far-reaching corona measures are to be decided today. Among other things, there should be “extensive contact restrictions for unvaccinated people,” said North Rhine-Westphalia’s Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU).
Other topics he mentioned were a significant reduction in the number of spectators at major events, an expansion of the 2G rule (access only for vaccinated and convalescent people) and the short-term implementation of mandatory vaccinations in care facilities and hospitals.
Meanwhile, experts spoke out in favor of even tougher measures – including a lockdown. “We urgently need nationwide emergency brake measures to limit contact as much as possible,” said Gernot Marx, President of the German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine. If necessary, this could also be a temporary lockdown.
30 million extra stitches
The designated Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) also wants to quickly increase the vaccination rate. His goal was 30 million stitches by Christmas. “This is logistically difficult to implement, since around 1.5 million vaccinations would have to be administered a day,” said Thomas Schulz, a virologist at the Hanover Medical School.
For comparison: According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), 532,000 vaccine doses were administered in Germany on Monday, 422,000 of which were booster vaccinations.
Source From: Nachrichten
