Saturday, December 25, 2021
“From the end of January or February”
Woidke wants to decide later about compulsory vaccination
In order to get the emerging omicron wave in Germany under control, Chancellor Scholz wants to introduce mandatory vaccination for everyone. Brandenburg’s Prime Minister Woidke is not yet convinced that such a step is necessary. He counts on time.
Brandenburg’s Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke advises that a decision on the controversial question of mandatory vaccination for all should not be made for a few weeks. “From the end of January or February we will know where we stand – in Brandenburg and nationwide,” said Woidke in Potsdam. “Then we know whether a vaccination is still necessary or – much better – many people have recognized that they can personally and voluntarily make a contribution to the way out of the pandemic by vaccinating. This way is my favorite and would be good for our community . ”
On December 10, the Bundestag decided that employees in clinics and nursing homes should be vaccinated. In order to increase the vaccination rate, a general vaccination requirement is now also under discussion. It is envisaged that the Bundestag will vote on it without being forced into a parliamentary group. Chancellor Olaf Scholz had said after the federal-state consultations about a general vaccination requirement: “I do not think that we should refrain from it.”
Woidke also believes vaccination is the way out of the pandemic. He pointed out that the willingness to vaccinate had increased significantly in the past few weeks. “We were able to significantly exceed our weekly goal of 160,000 vaccinations several times.”
Experts fear that Omikron will reverse the trend
According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), more than 1.6 million people in Brandenburg have been vaccinated up to twice, but the vaccination rate in the state is well below the national average. “I am firmly convinced that we can manage not to let this Omikron variant become the worst-case scenario with ten million infected people as early as the second week of January, but can lower the curve significantly – but only with the appropriate measures and with the understanding of the population, “said Woidke. On January 7th, Chancellor Scholz wants to meet the country chiefs. Then they want to consult again about fighting the pandemic.
The corona numbers in Germany have recently fallen, but experts fear an imminent trend reversal due to the more contagious omicron mutant. The federal chairwoman of the doctors of the public health service, Ute Teichert, also pointed out existing gaps in the contact tracking of people infected with corona. “At the moment, there is almost no longer any comprehensive follow-up.” Several countries such as Baden-Württemberg, Berlin and Hamburg have even completely suspended the search for contact persons.