Partial vaccination - Scholz takes responsibility for countries

Created: 2022-02-09Updated: 2022-02-09 17:05

Chancellor Olaf Scholz assumes that the federal states will comply with the laws.

© Michele Tantussi/Getty Images Europe/dpa

In the Corona crisis management, anger about the long-sealed compulsory vaccination for sensitive facilities continues to boil - now Chancellor Olaf Schol intervenes.

More and more everyday requirements are being relaxed.

In the dispute over the mandatory corona vaccination for staff in nursing homes and clinics, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) is taking responsibility for the federal states.

"We assume that laws will be observed," he said, according to deputy government spokesman Wolfgang Büchner in Berlin.

This is "one of the advantages of the German legal system".

Top politicians from the SPD and FDP sharply attacked the Union, which is demanding a suspension of the obligation that will take effect from mid-March due to feared practical problems.

Trade unions also reported concerns.

Before the next federal-state round, requirements will be relaxed in more and more regions.

Vaccination compulsory as an additional protection for vulnerable groups

The federal government emphasized that the federal states had explicitly asked to introduce compulsory vaccination as additional protection in facilities for vulnerable groups.

They are responsible for the implementation, said Büchner.

The federal government is ready to talk to ensure a "uniform and pragmatic approach".

First of all, Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) announced that he would use all the leeway to "temporarily" suspend the implementation.

CDU leader Friedrich Merz confirmed that the federal government was leaving institutions and those affected "completely alone" with the consequences of compulsory vaccination.

The CDU therefore proposed a suspension until questions about it were clarified.

The law passed by the Bundestag and Bundesrat in December - also with the consent of the Union - 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.

They can then prohibit employment there.

DGB has concerns about partial vaccination

The Federal Ministry of Health explained that the health authorities were expressly given a certain amount of discretion.

It is about individual clarifications depending on the situation in the facility, for example about further employment opportunities in other places.

The federal government cannot clarify this in general.

The Ministry of Social Affairs explained that labor law issues that follow possible bans on entering facilities usually represent individual rights in individual cases.

For example, it may be necessary to check whether employees acted culpably.

The Confederation of German Trade Unions (DGB) made clear concerns about the partial vaccination requirement.

It cannot be the case that institutions and employers become quasi "vicarious agents of the legislature" and that operational conflicts and labor law consequences arise at the expense of the employees, said DGB boss Reiner Hoffmann.

He spoke out in favor of 3G rules - i.e. access for the vaccinated, those who have recovered and those who have been tested.

It can also be assumed that the safety of patients and employees will be guaranteed.

Klingbeil accuses Union of "chaotic course".

SPD leader Lars Klingbeil accused the Union of a "muddled course".

"Merz and Söder act more like the pubescent boys in the schoolyard who are looking for any fight," he said on the TV station "Bild".

FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr told the German press agency with a view to the Union's prior approval: "It's outrageous how the CDU and CSU are wrong through the pandemic." Merz emphasized that since December, the exact points "that are now have not been answered by the Federal Government to this day".

Before further corona consultations by Scholz and the prime ministers next week, there are more and more easing of the conditions.

Like other countries, Rhineland-Palatinate wants to give up access only for vaccinated and recovered (2G) in the trade.

Prime Minister Malu Dreyer (SPD) wants to work for a uniform decision.

"It is clear that 2G will definitely fall in retail." The chairman of the Prime Ministers' Conference, Hendrik Wüst (CDU) from North Rhine-Westphalia, told the dpa that a gradual plan for more perspectives should be discussed together, "which the openings responsibly secured with a basic protection".

That means: “Wear a mask and keep your distance where it is necessary.”

more on the subject

Greens call for a special session in the state parliament

Dispute about compulsory vaccination: Wüst sees failures in the federal government

Giffey: Moving away from compulsory vaccination without solidarity

The Federal Ministry of Health confirmed that it was "still too early to relax".

The wave with the corona variant Omicron has not yet reached its peak, said a spokesman.

A current overload of the hospitals cannot be seen - but only if the measures are maintained.

AfD parliamentary group leader Alice Weidel accused the federal states of a "delay tactic" with piecemeal repeals.

"Whether 2G or 3G, with or without a test - all corona rules, measures and restrictions on freedom must be lifted immediately, completely and across the board and the citizens' personal responsibility for health protection returned." dpa