Coronavirus: Ministry of Defense announces de facto mandatory vaccination for soldiers

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Soldiers are often exposed to a high risk of infection

Photo: Robert Michael / dpa

Corona vaccination is currently being discussed for various professional groups.

Soldiers must now put up with a corona vaccination.

The Ministry of Defense has made vaccination compulsory for the more than 180,000 men and women in the Bundeswehr.

The acting minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (CDU) decided and instructed this, said a spokesman.

What is the obligation to tolerate?

In the Bundeswehr, the obligation to tolerate vaccination and preventive measures was introduced a few years ago.

Soldiers who refuse to do so face disciplinary consequences.

The Bundeswehr refers to the Soldiers Act and the operational readiness of the troops.

"The soldier only has to tolerate medical measures against his will if they 1. serve to prevent or combat communicable diseases or 2. serve to determine his ability to serve or employ", says the Soldiers Act, Paragraph 17a.

And: »If the soldier refuses a reasonable medical measure and his ability to work or work is impaired as a result, he can be denied care.

A medical measure that is associated with a considerable risk to life or health is unreasonable. "

Inclusion in the list of vaccinations subject to tolerance

In practice, the minister's decision will probably only take effect in the medium term.

The Bundeswehr medical service will include corona protection in the corresponding regulation on "vaccination and selected prophylactic measures" in a few days.

This means that all soldiers would be obliged to be protected against the Covid19 pathogen as part of the so-called basic vaccination protection.

A good 80 percent of all soldiers in the Bundeswehr are currently vaccinated.

However, the values ​​are very different from region to region.

While the troops in the west of the republic registered very high vaccination rates of over 90 percent, in the east German locations these are sometimes only 60 percent.

A few days ago, the Bundeswehr also ordered that only fully vaccinated soldiers were allowed to participate in troop relief operations against the spread of the virus.

The Bundeswehr's crisis team is currently receiving dozens of new calls for help from all federal states every day.

The municipalities usually ask for soldiers to support the vaccination centers and health authorities.

As early as 2020, the Bundeswehr doctor-general recommended that the Ministry of Defense introduce compulsory vaccinations for soldiers.

Many members of the troop are exposed to a high risk of infection because of their work.

As soon as the relevant regulation is changed, the superiors are required to have the vaccination protection of their soldiers checked by the troop doctors.

In addition, those who are not vaccinated will be noticed from now on during the access controls to the barracks, since the Bundeswehr, like all employers, has to control the so-called 3G rule.

If soldiers resist the compulsory vaccination, disciplinary proceedings could be opened against them.

mgb / muk / dpa