“No offended liverwurst”
Lauterbach calls on countries to implement new rules
03/21/2022, 00:32
Karl Lauterbach was considered a hardliner in corona policy, now he has to defend the end of the protective measures. The federal states should only apply the hotspot regulation if it is really necessary, says the Federal Minister of Health. However, there is no way around a general obligation to vaccinate.
Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach has again called on the parties in the Bundestag to agree to a general obligation to vaccinate. “In the democratic parties, we all have to stick together for reasons of state,” said Lauterbach on the ARD program “Report from Berlin”. There should be no party politics. “We don’t close the vaccination gap voluntarily. That’s why vaccination is mandatory.” Talks with the CDU are also necessary for this.
Since neither of the two group applications per compulsory vaccination has a majority in the Bundestag, Lauterbach proposed a fusion of the concepts in the “RTL Aktuell” program. He advocates “that we merge these two applications that we currently have for general vaccination into one application that will then find a majority,” said the minister.
A draft law by deputies from the three traffic light groups aims to make vaccination compulsory from the age of 18. The draft by members of parliament around the FDP politician Andrew Ullmann, on the other hand, provides for the introduction of an obligation to provide advice for all adults – with the possibility of later creating an obligation to vaccinate everyone over the age of 50.
For the first time on Thursday, the Bundestag debated the draft laws and applications for general compulsory vaccination. The five templates range from compulsory vaccination from the age of 18 to no to any requirement. Parliament wants to make a decision at the beginning of April, by then a compromise should be sought.
Hotspots possible throughout the state
Lauterbach also defended the imminent end of many corona protection requirements. These did not expire now, but continued for two weeks until April 2nd, explained the minister on ARD. It could be that the number of cases would then be more stable or decrease – if not, conditions in “hotspots” could even be tightened. Lauterbach admitted that the federal government had made the legislative changes for the first time without involving the federal states. But he appealed to the countries not to react coldly. “Now nobody can, let me say, play the offended liverwurst and don’t make themselves a hotspot where it’s necessary.”
He said it was not in dispute with Justice Minister Marco Buschmann that an entire federal state could also be a hotspot. “If a federal state now has a large number of hotspots, then the federal state is made up of hotspots.”