Sharp criticism of the government
CDU calls for suspension of compulsory care vaccination
2/7/2022, 6:48 p.m
In December, the Union agreed to compulsory vaccination for nursing staff. Now the CSU and CDU are making a U-turn. After the Bavarian advance, CDU leader Merz also called for the measure to be suspended. The government has not created the conditions for enforcing compulsory vaccination, he says.
The Union parties are making a U-turn in the facility-related vaccination requirement: CDU leader Friedrich Merz called on the federal government to suspend the introduction of compulsory vaccination for nursing staff planned for March 15. This is the “completely unanimous” opinion of the executive and presidium of the CDU, and the faction leaders of the Union parties in the state parliaments have also agreed to this demand “without exception”. In December, the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag approved the introduction of facility-related compulsory vaccination.
Merz accused the federal government of not having created the conditions for enforcing compulsory vaccination in mid-March. “The federal government leaves the facilities and employees alone with the consequences of this vaccination requirement,” said the CDU leader. Facilities in many countries were threatened with massive staff losses. The compulsory vaccination “throws the institutions into chaos”.
The so-called institution-related corona vaccination obligation was decided by the Bundestag and Bundesrat in December: Employees in institutions with vulnerable people such as clinics and nursing homes must prove by March 15, 2022 that they have been fully vaccinated against corona or have recovered from corona. A medical certificate stating that you cannot be vaccinated is also possible.
Criticism of Bavarian advance
Merz referred to NRW Minister of Health Karl-Josef Laumann from the CDU, who reported in the party committees of “insurmountable difficulties in the facilities” in implementing compulsory vaccination. “We see a massive loss of staff there,” said Merz. The Union faction approved the proposal in December “assuming that the problems can be solved,” said Merz. “We have to rethink how we deal with the subject of compulsory vaccination,” he said. “It can’t stay the way it is.”
Merz and the Union faction leaders of the federal states expressly supported the plan of Bavaria’s Prime Minister and CSU boss Markus Söder not to implement the facility-related compulsory vaccination for nursing staff for the time being. “We are of the same opinion,” said Merz.
The Bavarian plan met with sharp criticism, especially from the SPD and the Greens. “The Bavarian state government should also take the law that has been passed seriously,” said Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach in Berlin. “It’s about protecting patients and residents. We have to protect the people in the homes who need care.” And the SPD politician added: “Lax enforcement rules for facility-related vaccination requirements can not only endanger the lives of older people with weak immune systems.” They also jeopardize the credibility of politics.
According to their designated chairwoman Ricarda Lang, the Greens are also sticking to the facility-related vaccination requirement. This should be implemented “quickly and punctually”, said Lang in Berlin. In contrast to a general obligation to vaccinate, this is not about relieving the burden on clinics and intensive care units, where a new regulation could possibly be considered if the situation there improved. Rather, the institution-related vaccination obligation is about protecting vulnerable people, such as older people in nursing homes. “It remains a concern that we clearly have.”