Vaccination turnaround?
Esken surprises with new signals to the Union - "You can get closer"
Created: 03/30/2022, 12:57 p.m
By: Jennifer Battaglia
Olaf Scholz with SPD leader Saskia Esken.
(Archive photo) © Janine Schmitz/Imago
So far, none of the draft laws for general corona vaccination has had a majority in the Bundestag.
The SPD leadership is now open to moving closer to the Union's proposal.
Berlin – is it coming, or is it not coming, the general corona vaccination requirement for Germany?
So far, none of the proposed bills has been able to secure a majority in the Bundestag.
Many MPs from the SPD, Greens and FDP are in favor of compulsory vaccination from the age of 18, the Union would like a preventive vaccination law with a graduated vaccination mechanism.
This should only take effect when the pandemic situation worsens again - and only apply to vulnerable population and professional groups.
In an interview with
Merkur.de
, CDU health expert Tino Sorge recently emphasized that the Union would not approach the traffic light draft law.
A vaccination requirement from the age of 18 is neither scientifically nor constitutionally “waterproof”.
But SPD leader Saskia Esken has now indicated a concession.
General vaccination requirement: convergence between traffic lights and Union?
In an interview with the news portal
t-online.de
, Esken said: "A gradual implementation of compulsory vaccination is an approach that can be approached." The decision on compulsory vaccination should not be postponed now.
Esken considers the Union's demand to introduce a vaccination register to be "reasonable".
You shouldn't make this a requirement.
"Because we don't have the time for that." A vaccination register could be set up in parallel with the implementation of compulsory vaccination.
All in all, Esken can well imagine "that we will come together".
The SPD leader had already made positive comments about the draft by the CDU and CDU in the past.
In February she told the dpa: "The idea of the stages, the phased implementation of a general obligation to vaccinate, would be worth considering." However, one must take preventive action in any case and not only put these stages into effect when a new corona wave has begun , she affirmed at the time.
Video: Health insurance companies consider general vaccination to be unfeasible
General obligation to vaccinate: vote in the Bundestag planned for next week
In the coming week, the Bundestag is to vote on a general corona vaccination requirement.
The deputies should decide according to their conscience alone, there will be no group coercion.
However, it is uncertain whether one of the drafts will also receive an absolute majority, as this requires at least 368 votes.
In addition to the draft of the traffic light parties and the Union proposal for the Vaccination Prevention Act, there is also an initiative by the FDP politician Andrew Ullmann, who advocates compulsory vaccination from the age of 50.
A group led by the Bundestag Vice President and FDP politician Wolfgang Kubicki has presented a draft law against general vaccination requirements, as has the AfD.
General obligation to vaccinate: Not undisputed
It has not been finally clarified whether a general obligation to vaccinate could also be implemented in practice.
The central association of statutory health insurance companies in Germany recently expressed strong doubts.
Among other things, there is not enough paper to implement compulsory vaccination according to the ideas of the SPD, Greens and FDP.
In addition, the relationship of trust between insured persons and health insurance companies could be severely strained if the health insurance companies had to monitor compulsory vaccination and report their insured persons to the fine authorities, according to the central association.
Scientific experts also doubt the benefits of general vaccination.
The well-known virologist Hendrik Streeck, a member of the Federal Government’s Corona Expert Council, speaks out against compulsory vaccination, for example.
In an interview with
Merkur.de
in February he said: "With our vaccination there will be no eradication of the virus, let alone sterile immunity." The virus continues to mutate and one cannot predict either the protective effect or the duration of the vaccination.
In Austria, the general obligation to vaccinate came into force in February and was suspended again just a month later.
According to a report by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Health, the general obligation to vaccinate to ensure a high vaccination rate makes sense in principle, but immediate implementation does not appear necessary from a legal point of view.
(
jb
)
