The CDU and CSU had supported the partial vaccination requirement for employees of certain facilities, and it should take effect in five weeks. But after Bavaria announced that it would not implement the measure for the time being, the Union now wants to put the brakes on nationwide.
The dispute over the statutory corona vaccination requirement for staff in clinics and nursing homes is coming to a head. The Union is pushing for a nationwide suspension of partial vaccination, which will actually take effect from mid-March. “The federal government must realize that the facility-related vaccination requirement is currently hardly feasible,” said the health policy spokesman for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, Tino Sorge, of the “Bild” newspaper. CDU leader Friedrich Merz had already called for the suspension throughout Germany early Monday evening.
Merz accused the federal government of leaving institutions and employees alone with the consequences of this compulsory vaccination. The CDU agreed at the time, but on the assumption that the problems could be solved. Sorge demanded: “The suspension should apply nationwide until central legal and practical questions have been answered.” Among other things, the government must clarify the question of how to deal with personnel that institutions regard as indispensable. “Today it doesn’t look as if the traffic light will succeed in time for March 16.”
Söder’s refusal is the impetus
Bavaria’s CSU Prime Minister Markus Söder had previously announced that he would not implement the measure in Bavaria until further notice. This caused criticism from Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD) and other representatives of the traffic light coalition.
The FDP health politician Andrew Ullmann spoke of a “egocentric refusal”. “Basically, it’s just a PR trick to take place in the media,” he told the “Augsburger Allgemeine” (Tuesday). Ullmann accused Söder: “If there was a serious interest in implementation issues, he could have worked with the federal and state governments.”
The president of the social association VdK, Verena Bentele, told the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung” that the protection of the residents of the home was completely out of focus. “There is a law that was passed to protect these people. If it is not implemented due to a lack of controls, human lives will be at risk.”
Union MPs had also voted for the law in December
The law passed by the Bundestag and Bundesrat in December stipulates that employees in nursing homes and clinics must submit proof of being vaccinated or recovered by March 15th – or a certificate that they cannot be vaccinated. Employers must inform the health authorities if this does not happen. These may prohibit employment in the facility. The vast majority of the CDU/CSU deputies in the Bundestag had also voted in favor of it. Lauterbach has made it clear that the law applies and that he opposes a postponement.
Federal Family Minister Anne Spiegel told the “Spiegel”: “We should implement what we decided in December for good reasons.” The Greens politician, who is also responsible for senior citizens, emphasized the “responsibility to protect older people in society”. The virologist Hendrik Streeck, on the other hand, said “Bild”: “The facility-related vaccination requirement would further aggravate the staffing situation in the clinics and thus further burden the healthcare system. It is good if politicians draw conclusions from this knowledge.”
The Association of Towns and Municipalities considers a “time extension” to be sensible when implementing partial vaccination in exceptional cases. “If the functionality or ongoing operations are at risk, it may be right to open up additional leeway here,” said general manager Gerd Landsberg to the newspapers of the Funke media group. Regional differences emerged, some of which impeded “timely implementation”. “While social institutions in North Rhine-Westphalia sometimes report a vaccination rate of 97 percent among their staff, this appears to be different for many institutions in Bavaria. The same is likely to apply to some eastern German states.”
Is Bavaria no longer loyal to the federal government?
Bavaria’s head of government Söder had announced that there would be “the most generous transitional regulations”, which “de facto initially amounts to a suspension of enforcement”. State Health Minister Klaus Holetschek defended the move. Bavaria relies on “implementation with a sense of proportion, which also takes into account the legitimate and important concerns of the institutions concerned and the health authorities, which are already working at the limit,” said the CSU politician. “With appropriate implementation periods, we ensure that the security of supply in hospitals, nursing homes and other facilities covered by the vaccination obligation is always guaranteed.”
Thuringia’s Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow criticized the editorial network Germany (RND, Tuesday): “As Prime Minister, you must not give the impression that you are no longer loyal to the federal government. The situation has already heated up. Then he would have had to step on the brakes beforehand.” However, Ramelow also said that the law produces contradictions that need to be clarified. Incidentally, “a general obligation to vaccinate would have been better from the outset”.
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania wants to implement the institution-related vaccination requirement quickly, but still expects clarifications from the federal government. The legislature has not yet answered a number of questions, it said on Monday from the Ministry of Social Affairs in Schwerin. These included, for example, the examination of evidence and exceptions, the legally secure involvement of employers, the type of sanctions and the question of uniform controls. The municipalities needed lead time and implementation time.
Source: Stern
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