German conservatives float mandatory vaccination for over-50s
Germany’s opposition conservatives are proposing to only require vaccination of people over 50, instead of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s plan to require all adults to get the jab.
Bundestag Member Stephan Pilsinger (CSU), a doctor and health policy specialist sitting in parliament with the Bavarian conservative sister party to the Christian Democrats, says the CDU/CSU - known as the Union - will put its own draft law on mandatory vaccination before parliament.
The Union’s proposal would require only people in Germany aged 50 and over to get vaccinated for Covid-19.
That would be a challenge to new Social Democrat Chancellor Scholz, who wants to require everyone in Germany to get the shot - despite some pushback from MPs among his coalition partners the Free Democrats (FDP) who have come out against mandatory vaccination, at least for now.
READ ALSO: Scholz pushes mandatory jabs as resistance grows in Germany
“Because the majority of Covid patients in intensive care are over 50, we can effectively protect the health system with compulsory vaccination of people who are over 50, while still keeping the encroachment on societal freedom as low as possible,” Pilsinger told newspapers with the Funke media group.
Pilsinger says Union parliamentarians will prioritise working on their own draft law rather than participating in cross-party consultations on a mandatory vaccination law to begin later in January.
Chancellor Scholz is hoping to pass a vaccination requirement for all German residents sometime in late February or early March, despite the resistance.
The mandate will be debated and voted on in parliament.
Vaccination requirements for certain professions
Beginning on March 15th, certain employees, such as nurses or others in care professions, will have to begin carrying proof of full vaccination, or a medical certificate confirming they cannot be vaccinated, but the Bundestag has yet to vote on a general vaccination requirement.
Unlike a general vaccination requirement similar to Austria’s current law, which would require everyone in Germany to be inoculated against Covid-19, the Union’s proposal mirrors Italy’s current law. Italian legislation requires only people over 50 years-old to receive a shot.
READ ALSO: German state vaccination centres roll out booster jabs for teenagers
Vaccination is currently voluntary in Germany, with about 72 percent of people having had two shots, and about 43 percent having received their booster jab. That's a rate that lags considerably behind countries like Portugal or Ireland, which have seen over 90 percent of eligible adults get vaccinated.
▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░░░░ 74,6% mind. eine Impfdosis
▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░░░░ 71,9% vollständig Geimpfte
▓▓▓▓▓▓░░░░░░░░░ 42,9% Booster Geimpfte
— Impfstatus Fortschritt (@impf_progress) January 10, 2022
Vocabulary
Vaccination requirement or obligation - (die) Impfpflicht
A "general" vaccination requirement or obligation that applies to everyone, not just specific age groups or professions - (die) Allgemeine Impfpflicht
Employees - (die) Angestellte
Care professions - (die) Pflegeberufe
READ ALSO: Q&A - 'I was against vaccine mandates - until hospitals became overwhelmed'
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Bundestag Member Stephan Pilsinger (CSU), a doctor and health policy specialist sitting in parliament with the Bavarian conservative sister party to the Christian Democrats, says the CDU/CSU - known as the Union - will put its own draft law on mandatory vaccination before parliament.
The Union’s proposal would require only people in Germany aged 50 and over to get vaccinated for Covid-19.
That would be a challenge to new Social Democrat Chancellor Scholz, who wants to require everyone in Germany to get the shot - despite some pushback from MPs among his coalition partners the Free Democrats (FDP) who have come out against mandatory vaccination, at least for now.
READ ALSO: Scholz pushes mandatory jabs as resistance grows in Germany
“Because the majority of Covid patients in intensive care are over 50, we can effectively protect the health system with compulsory vaccination of people who are over 50, while still keeping the encroachment on societal freedom as low as possible,” Pilsinger told newspapers with the Funke media group.
Pilsinger says Union parliamentarians will prioritise working on their own draft law rather than participating in cross-party consultations on a mandatory vaccination law to begin later in January.
Chancellor Scholz is hoping to pass a vaccination requirement for all German residents sometime in late February or early March, despite the resistance.
The mandate will be debated and voted on in parliament.
Vaccination requirements for certain professions
Beginning on March 15th, certain employees, such as nurses or others in care professions, will have to begin carrying proof of full vaccination, or a medical certificate confirming they cannot be vaccinated, but the Bundestag has yet to vote on a general vaccination requirement.
Unlike a general vaccination requirement similar to Austria’s current law, which would require everyone in Germany to be inoculated against Covid-19, the Union’s proposal mirrors Italy’s current law. Italian legislation requires only people over 50 years-old to receive a shot.
READ ALSO: German state vaccination centres roll out booster jabs for teenagers
Vaccination is currently voluntary in Germany, with about 72 percent of people having had two shots, and about 43 percent having received their booster jab. That's a rate that lags considerably behind countries like Portugal or Ireland, which have seen over 90 percent of eligible adults get vaccinated.
▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░░░░ 74,6% mind. eine Impfdosis
— Impfstatus Fortschritt (@impf_progress) January 10, 2022
▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░░░░ 71,9% vollständig Geimpfte
▓▓▓▓▓▓░░░░░░░░░ 42,9% Booster Geimpfte
Vocabulary
Vaccination requirement or obligation - (die) Impfpflicht
A "general" vaccination requirement or obligation that applies to everyone, not just specific age groups or professions - (die) Allgemeine Impfpflicht
Employees - (die) Angestellte
Care professions - (die) Pflegeberufe
READ ALSO: Q&A - 'I was against vaccine mandates - until hospitals became overwhelmed'
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