There is no compulsory vaccination against the coronavirus in Germany.
Can medical staff who do not want to be vaccinated still be dismissed as a result?
The
vaccinations
*
against the
coronavirus
* should
start
in the coming year at the latest
.
There
will be
no
compulsory vaccination
in
Germany
.
Is there
still at least a moral obligation
for
hospital staff
to get
vaccinated
?
Munich - by the German company
BioNTech *
co-developed
vaccine
*
against the
coronavirus
SARS-CoV-2
is considered to be light at the end of the tunnel in the fight against
the pandemic
, which holds the world since spring in breath.
The responsible politicians repeated at public meetings for the vaccinations due in 2021, however, like a prayer wheel that there
would be
no
compulsory vaccination
for the population
in
Germany
.
Bavaria's
Prime Minister Markus Söder
(CSU) recently spoke of a vaccination “requirement” for people who come
together
with
risk groups at
work.
Above all medical specialists and
doctors
.
So is there a
risk of
compulsory vaccination
through the back door
in
Germany
or is there a
fundamental moral obligation
for
hospital staff
to get vaccinated?
The
Bayerischer Rundfunk
magazine “controvers”
dealt
with these questions
.
Coronavirus: Is there a moral obligation to vaccinate hospital staff in Germany?
“If someone is in a
nursing profession
and he comes very much closer to other people, he violates this moral duty in several ways for me.
Above all, he hurts her by not fulfilling his role model function, ”says Prof. Nikolaus Knoepffler, who
sits
on the Bavarian
Ethics Council
.
Medical
professionals in
particular
should set a good example and
demonstrate the relevance of
vaccinations
to
the population
, says the expert.
Presentation of the corona vaccination center in Nuremberg with Federal Minister @jensspahn.
Our vaccination logistics are ready: 99 vaccination centers in Bavaria for 33,000 vaccinations per day at the start.
This is a day of hope, even if we have to continue to live with Corona for the time being.
pic.twitter.com/rLrksz5j4G
- Markus Söder (@Markus_Soeder) December 11, 2020
However
, there are also isolated voices
from
doctors
and medical
professionals
who oppose the moral
obligation to vaccinate
.
"They are indeed doctors, but they are also completely normal people, completely normal citizens who have the same fears as our patients," says
family doctor
Dr.
Karl Ludwig Maier.
For him, however, the most important thing is
to find “good togetherness” in the population
regardless of the
vaccination
.
Refuse corona vaccination: Can medical professionals face dismissal?
But what does the situation look like apart from moral obligations with regard to labor law?
Threatening
hospital staff
that a
vaccination
waived, possibly even the
termination
?
From a legal point of view, this step would be possible, says Richard Giesen, professor of labor law at the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich.
“In principle, the
employer is
already legally obliged to keep his employees as healthy as possible and to maintain healthy
working conditions
.
If there are no longer any employment opportunities for such an employee who has not had himself
vaccinated
, then the worst possible consequence would be personal
dismissal
, ”explains the legal expert.
But even if you
ignore vaccination requirements
, moral obligations and personal consequences, one fact remains clear.
Only with a sufficient
willingness
to
vaccinate
in the population can the
vaccine
become a successful project * and actually serve as a light at the end of the tunnel.
(fd) * merkur.de is part of the Ippen-Digital editors network
List of rubric lists: © Graeme Robertson / Pool PA / dpa