Vaccination obligation from 18 officially buried - Lauterbach still facing a fiasco?

"Last Try at Saving Face"

Created: 04/05/2022 11:49 am

By: Florian Naumann

Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (right) in conversation.

(Archive photo) © Florian Gärtner/Photothek/Imago Images

Next turn around the corona vaccination obligation: Plans for an obligation from the age of 18 are officially a thing of the past - instead, another plan comes into focus.

The exit in the Bundestag remains open.

Berlin – The long-debated general vaccination requirement from the age of 18 is now finally off the table: the supporters of the plans in the Bundestag are putting the project on hold due to the lack of prospects of success.

This was announced by the initiators of the application on Monday.

237 members of parliament led by SPD politician Heike Baehrens to the field from the age of 18 – Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach* (both SPD) were also among the supporters.

According to information from the

, they are now also supporting the new swing.

But apparently nothing has been gained with that: the Union still does not want to agree.

And there is also headwind in the traffic light coalition.

Vaccination only from 50?

Lauterbach switches to a new plan - "Everyone can find themselves here"

According to the will of the 237 MPs, there should now be compulsory vaccination for people over 50, as Green MP Till Steffen explained, but an extension to all adults is planned as an option.

The idea is similar to an initiative by a group led by FDP MP Andrew Ullmann - but it goes beyond this in terms of sharpness.

The new compulsory vaccination proposal from the traffic light coalition:

According to the new draft, all citizens between the ages of 18 and 49 should undergo mandatory vaccination advice.

However, the applicants expressly keep open the possibility of later extending the vaccination obligation to all adults if necessary.

In addition, the preparation of a vaccination register is now planned, as is particularly required by the Union.

Efforts to compromise between the various vaccination advocates have apparently failed.

The Union faction confirmed that it still did not want to support any of the traffic light applications and would only vote for its own draft for a “graded vaccination mechanism”.

The new proposal is "not a technical compromise, but the last attempt to save political face for Olaf Scholz and Karl Lauterbach," said Tino Sorge (CDU).

A few days ago, in an interview with Merkur.de, concern categorically ruled out compulsory vaccination from the age of 18*.

Vaccination fiasco for Scholz and Lauterbach?

Traffic light colleagues say "No" - Minister defends turnaround

The group around Ullmann, which itself came to a considerable extent from the traffic light parliamentary groups FDP, SPD and Greens, immediately rejected the proposal: "An immediate vaccination requirement from the age of 50 cannot be sufficiently justified on the basis of the current data situation," she explained .

The group referred to a number of "unknown variables in the fall" - such as virus variants that appear then and the immunity rate in the population.

However, she welcomed a "rapprochement" on many points.

Ullmann and some supporters had proposed mandatory vaccination advice* and the

of mandatory vaccination from the age of 50.

Lauterbach was also publicly convinced of the changed plan on Monday, despite months of campaigning for compulsory vaccination from the age of 18. The compromise includes the most important of all applications for compulsory vaccination, he said.

“Anyone who wants compulsory vaccination can find themselves here.

But if you vote against it, you risk lockdowns and suffering again in the autumn.” The minister went on to explain: “The key thing is that we protect the elderly immediately.

In addition, we can react to a worsening of the pandemic situation and then protect the younger ones as well.”

The parliamentary director of the FDP, Stephan Thomae, welcomed the news: A general obligation to vaccinate from the age of 18 can “only be constitutionally justified if a vaccination would guarantee protection against infection.

However, this is not the case,” he told

.

In addition, there is currently no risk of the health systems being overburdened - "a phase has been reached in which we can rely on personal responsibility".

Mandatory vaccination vote in the Bundestag: Lauterbach request canceled – majority still uncertain

The SPD MP Dagmar Schmidt admitted that efforts to find a compromise between the advocates of compulsory vaccination from the age of 18 on the one hand and the Union, which only wants to make a reserve decision for a possible later compulsory vaccination, and the third group, which is preparing a vaccination requirement from the age of 50 wants to have failed.

If it stays that way, the new application should now be put to the vote in the Bundestag instead of the application for general vaccination, said Schmidt.

However, a majority for it is still uncertain.

The turnaround is also a political defeat for Scholz and Lauterbach.

The heads of the traffic light coalition *, who are leading in corona politics, had promoted compulsory vaccination from the age of 18 – as did the Greens cabinet members Robert Habeck and Annalena Baerbock.

Lauterbach had recently publicly expected a quick compromise.

The Bundestag is to decide on the possible introduction of compulsory vaccination this Thursday without the usual parliamentary group specifications.

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