Vaccination compulsory from 18?

Traffic light group doubts legality - extra-mild draft should shake up the debate

Created: 02/16/2022, 22:06

By: Florian Naumann

FDP parliamentary group leader Konstantin Kuhle is also one of the supporters of mandatory vaccinations from the age of 50. © Frederic Kern /www.imago-images.de

A traffic light group also wants to “expect the citizens to do something” – but first and foremost with vaccination advice.

Your vaccination draft should bring movement into the debate again.

Berlin - The debate about general vaccination is officially one more variant: Several traffic light deputies around the FDP health expert Andrew Ullmann presented another draft law on Wednesday (February 16).

The thrust: Obligatory advice for all adults, compulsory vaccination only if necessary - and only from the age of 50.

However, it still seems unclear whether the plan (unchanged) will make it to the first mandatory vaccination reading in the Bundestag, which is now expected in mid-March.

Because Ullmann and Co. made no secret of their desire to find a compromise with other groups.

The MEPs see points of contact, for example, with the Union's phased plan.

But the proposal could also be interesting for supporters of general vaccination from the age of 18, it said - for example if there is no majority for this more far-reaching idea.

"Our concept is open to being discussed and weighed with other models," said FDP parliamentary group leader Konstantin Kuhle - it was "an offer of talks to all democratic parliamentary groups in the Bundestag, including the Union".

In this respect, the presumably small crowd of supporters should not deter the traffic light people.

Incidentally, the draft also provides for the option of avoiding compulsory vaccination by providing proof of recovery.

Overall, the traffic light subgroup remains rather mild in its required funds for the implementation of compulsory vaccination.

This is no coincidence: the parliamentarians involved from the FDP, Greens and SPD have doubts about the legitimacy of tougher measures.

Obligation to vaccinate: "Unreasonable" for citizens - in the new Ullmann draft but initially only in the consultation

In general: Similar to the Union, Ullmann and his comrades-in-arms do not want to commit themselves to compulsory vaccination.

According to their plans, this would only be decided by the Bundestag - at the earliest in September and based on an analysis by the Robert Koch Institute.

The vaccination requirement from the age of 50 comes "when we realize in the fall that we need it," explained Kuhle.

First, however, the health insurance companies should write to all adults and invite them to a consultation, according to the plan.

The vaccination centers could carry out the conversation, said Ullmann.

There will probably be "capacities free" again in the summer - he hopes that those interested can go directly to the vaccination afterwards.

General practitioners could also be included.

When it comes to the obligation to provide advice, the authors of the draft explicitly want to cover all adults.

Vaccination is the way out of the restrictions on freedom, said Kuhle - which is why it is "reasonable that citizens have to deal with this connection".

Supporter Kordula Schulz-Asche (Greens) emphasized that it should be about "education", not about "advertising".

Precise information is planned for all people in the country, "regardless of where they live and where they come from".

Draft for compulsory vaccination: Proof of recovery should also be sufficient – ​​as well as an initial vaccination

However, the group remains cautious when it comes to the actual obligation to vaccinate.

There are doubts about the political and legal proportionality of mandatory vaccinations from the age of 18, Kuhle said - after all, the burden on the health system is largely due to the hospitalization of people over the age of 50.

With the restriction to this age group, one also follows the vote of some members of the Ethics Council, explained the SPD MP Herbert Wollmann.

Should vaccination be introduced, according to the plans of the traffic light group, proof of recovery would also be sufficient: Even someone who has recovered has sufficient protection, said Kuhle.

However, how long this status will apply still has to be clarified, possibly in the Infection Protection Act - the Corona summit on Wednesday also dealt with this question.

At the same time, according to the FDP parliamentary group leader, an initial vaccination should be enough to avoid penalties: if someone “sets off, then there is no longer any reason to demand a fine”.

According to the draft, possible sanctions should always be limited to fines.

The issue of imprisonment is "always excluded," emphasized Kuhle.

An interesting point could be the controls.

Ullmann and Co. have considered "random checks", for example by the police and public order offices - and not in the case of concerted actions in inner cities, but as a further component of the already known identity checks.

Corona vaccination requirement in the Bundestag: the procedure for the vote is probably still open

According to the group, it is still unclear how the final vote in the Bundestag will take place.

The rule is that the most extensive contribution is voted on first, said Ullmann - in this case that would probably be the general vaccination requirement from the age of 18 favored by many SPD MPs.

However, there is still no decided "modus vivendi".

Ullmann explicitly did not blame Karl Lauterbach's (SPD) Ministry of Health for the fact that the draft was a long time coming - and thus torpedoed the hoped-for Bundestag schedule.

The last version only returned from the ministry on Tuesday, but there were no delays in the cooperation process.

The reason for the late completion is different: "Thoroughness comes before speed," said the liberal.

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