The debate about general corona vaccination in Germany has been intense so far, but not very effective. Shortly before the start of the deliberations in the Bundestag, there are the first concrete proposals.
The debate about whether the German Bundestag will follow the Austrian example and introduce general corona vaccination is taking concrete shape. Shortly before the start of the first deliberations, supporters published the first plans.
Dirk Wiese, deputy SPD parliamentary group leader, now gives the first details that he has prepared together with other members of the traffic light coalition: The obligation should be limited to one to two years, apply to no more than three vaccinations and be enforced through fines, says the domestic and legal politician of the German Press Agency. He wants to do without a vaccination register because it takes too much time and have exceptions checked by the medical officer.
On Friday, Wiese, together with six politicians from the Greens and FDP, announced a group application for compulsory vaccination from the age of 18 in a letter to all members of the Bundestag except for those from the AfD. It is the application behind which Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), who has already advocated compulsory vaccination from the age of 18, should also stand. The Greens health politician Janosch Dahmen is one of the initiators. “The obligation to vaccinate can contribute to the pacification of society because it provides clarity,” he told the “Bild am Sonntag am Sonntag”. These are the concrete plans of the coalition MPs:
Compulsory for only three vaccinations
Two, three or in the end even more syringes? It must be clarified how many vaccinations are necessary to fulfill the obligation. In the group application of the coalition MPs, the number should be three. “On the basis of the current studies, one can say that with three vaccinations one has achieved a good basic immunization against a severe course,” says Wiese. If a further booster vaccination for the elderly or people with pre-existing conditions later makes sense, it should be voluntary.
Limited to one to two years
“This compulsory vaccination should not apply forever,” says Wiese. “It may be that at some point we will have such a high basic immunity that we no longer need vaccination.” When it comes to the length of the period, the deputies want to rely on the advice of experts. “But it will certainly not be just a few months, but rather one to two years.”
Fine as the main sanction
And which sanctions should be used to persuade unvaccinated people to vaccinate? Wiese and Dahmen are in favor of fines and against coercive measures such as compulsory detention. According to the law on administrative offenses, fines range from five to 1,000 euros “unless the law stipulates otherwise”. They could also be set even higher for compulsory vaccination. Dahmen advocates a “middle three-digit range”. In the case of non-payment, one could consider an individual penalty payment, according to Wiese. “So you could also take personal living conditions into account when determining the height.” According to the Administrative Enforcement Act, the upper limit for a fine is 25,000 euros.
Vaccination register not practical due to time constraints
The implementation of the vaccination requirement could be done by recording vaccinations in a central register. However, its structure is complex and there are concerns from data protection officers. “Due to time constraints, that doesn’t make sense for the current debate,” says Wiese. The obligation to vaccinate is intended to last for the next autumn and winter. Setting up a vaccination register would take too long for that. “There are a few ideas on how to write to the citizens anyway: via the health insurance companies or via the municipalities that have the registration data,” says Wiese.
Medical officer should control exceptions
Those for whom there are health reasons against vaccination are exempted from the obligation. “I’m in favor of it not being confirmed by the family doctor, but by the medical officer,” says Wiese. The background is that there are also anti-vaccination doctors among doctors who fear that they could be very generous in issuing exemption certificates.
Summer as a possible start date
The decision in the Bundestag should be made before the end of March. After that, the Vaccination Act still has to go to the Bundesrat before it comes into force. There should then be a kind of grace period during which the unvaccinated can be immunized in order to avoid sanctions. “The period of a good three months for the facility-related compulsory vaccination could provide orientation,” says Wiese. The bottom line would be that if the Bundestag agrees in March, the vaccination requirement will take effect sometime between June and August.
What is the competition doing?
The concept of coalition MPs is not unrivalled. The FDP politician Andrew Ullmann is preparing an application for compulsory vaccination from the age of 50. Bundestag Vice President Wolfgang Kubicki (FDP) has already submitted one against compulsory vaccination. This Monday, the deputy chairmen of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, Andrea Lindholz and Sepp Müller, will comment on the Union’s plans. Kubicki fears chaos in the implementation of compulsory vaccination because, in his opinion, many opponents of vaccination will refuse despite the fine. “A state that cannot implement what it orders is ridiculous. And that would be grist for the mill of conspiracy theorists and corona deniers,” said the FDP politician, according to “Bild am Sonntag”.
Source From: Stern
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