Debate about compulsory vaccination: Lauterbach names a specific time for a possible start

Created: 01/19/2022, 06:59 am

By: Catherine Haase

Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach advocates compulsory vaccination.

© Kay Nietfeld/dpa

The omicron variant of the coronavirus is still on the rise.

Health Minister Karl Lauterbach is now bringing a date for the start of a possible vaccination requirement into play.

Berlin

- Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach considers it important that a possible corona vaccination obligation comes into force quickly after a corresponding decision by the Bundestag.

The obligation to vaccinate must come quickly, said the SPD politician on Tuesday evening on the

"If we want to make an application that still works, then it is an application that puts the vaccination requirement into effect - what do I know - in April or around April, maybe in May." there must be enough time to immunize the unvaccinated against a possible new corona wave in autumn.

Corona: Vaccination obligation in spring - Minister of Health Lauterbach comments

Anyone who has not yet been vaccinated must "go through three vaccination cycles (...) and by then it will be in September or October," said Lauterbach. "Because it has to happen quickly so that I can avert the wave - and that's the reason for the obligation to vaccinate - so that I can still avert the wave in the fall." Lauterbach and Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) advocate general obligation to vaccinate. However, there should be no government proposal from the red-green-yellow coalition. Instead, groups of MPs should bring motions to Parliament on the subject. The Union of CDU* and CSU* had criticized this approach.

The Green* health expert Janosch Dahmen told the

on Wednesday: "I believe that the German Bundestag should vote on the general obligation to vaccinate against the corona virus after thorough consultation in March." If you want to keep to this time frame, " it would make sense to discuss the group applications for the first time in February".

Lauterbach said with a view to the upcoming deliberations in Parliament: "I would say that we will see important debates at the end of February/beginning of March."

Corona virus: No faction compulsion for compulsory vaccination decision

The SPD parliamentary group had already mentioned the goal of finalizing the decision in March.

Next week, Wednesday, there will be a first orientation debate in the Bundestag.

SPD faction vice Dirk Wiese told the

that he expected further specific group applications afterwards.

The traffic light alliance is aiming for a vote without the usual group discipline and justifies this by saying that it is an ethical question.

(Traffic lights ahead of big tasks - you can find out what the SPD, Greens and FDP are planning in our political newsletter.)

There are also different views on the subject within the coalition - some FDP politicians expressed sympathy for compulsory vaccination only for older people, while other FDP MPs around party vice-president Wolfgang Kubicki completely reject compulsory vaccination.

The seven-day incidence of new corona infections had recently increased significantly and had reached the highest level since the pandemic began.

Lauterbach expressed the expectation on RTL that the number of cases would continue to rise - and that the peak of the omicron wave in Germany would probably be reached in mid-February.

To contain the Omikron variant: Expert calls for FFP2 masks to be compulsory throughout Germany

Because of the rapid spread of the omicron variant of the virus, modeler Dirk Brockmann from Humboldt University Berlin recommends the mandatory use of FFP2 masks.

According to a study, FFP2 masks protect better against the new omicron mutation than against Delta.