German chancellor Olaf Scholz warned people not to be “naive” enough to expect the coronavirus will “miraculously” disappear, and described plans for a vaccine mandate. The German parliament will begin its first debate on a prospective broad-based coronavirus vaccine mandate on Wednesday, with three choices emerging: mandatory vaccinations for all adults or everyone over 50, or no mandate at all.
Vaccine mandate has long been a point of contention among German politicians of all sorts. However, anger with a high number of holdouts hampered the campaign against COVID-19 shifted the tide late last year.
Olaf Scholz came out in support of a vaccine mandate shortly before becoming chancellor in December, suggesting that it would go into force in February or early March.
That timeline has slipped, thanks in part to Scholz’s decision. The government isn’t introducing legislation itself, instead delegating the task to groups of legislators to develop cross-party suggestions and then voting according to conscience rather than party lines.
That gadget has already been utilized to resolve morally difficult medical dilemmas, most notably in early 2020 to determine regulations for organ donors.
On Wednesday, MPs will begin procedures with an “orientation debate.” It is unclear when legislation will be put to a vote, but it looks like any legislation would not take effect until far into the spring.
Vaccine mandate is necessary to get out of the pandemic
In an interview published Sunday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said it’s “naive” to expect the coronavirus would go away soon. According to reports, increasing Germany’s immunization rate is critical.
“We must not be naive. It is an illusion to believe that the pandemic will just miraculously be gone forever in three months’ time,” he said.
“Yes, the situation will hopefully improve and relax in the spring and summer. But next fall is sure to come.”
More than 75% of the German population has gotten at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccination, but Scholz wants to reach 90%.
“I’m convinced now that without [vaccine mandate], we won’t be able to get the vaccination rates up to the level needed to get us out of the pandemic,” he said.
His comments came a day before a meeting with Germany’s 16 state leaders to tackle coronavirus prevention measures.
Scholz also told the media that “easing rules on a broad scale in the middle of the omicron wave” would not help.
Scholz’s coalition government, which includes the Social Democrats (SPD), the Green Party, and the neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP), has a majority in parliament, but parliamentarians will be free to vote as they see right.
Suggestions for a vaccine mandate
Scholz’s three-party ruling coalition has so far come up with three suggestions.
A vaccine mandate for everyone over the age of 18 has been proposed, which would be valid for 2 years and cover a maximum of three doses, with fines for those who refuse. A competing plan asks for mandatory counseling sessions for the unvaccinated, followed by a vaccine mandate for those over the age of 50 if progress is insufficient. One faction, on the other hand, is opposed to any mandate.
It’s unclear how compliance would be monitored. There is no central vaccination registry in Germany.
The largest opposition party, the center-right Union group, has demanded that the government draft its own legislation, claiming that Scholz has failed to give leadership.
The German government passed legislation last month requiring hospital and nursing home employees to produce proof of complete vaccination or recovery from COVID-19 by mid-March.
Austria, a neighboring nation, became the first European country to pass a vaccine mandate for all adults last week, which will go into effect on Feb. 1 and will be implemented starting in mid-March.
In some other European nations, mandates for certain professions or age groups have been enacted. Greece has a mandate for those aged 60 and above, whereas Italy has a mandate for those aged 50 and up.
At least 73.5 percent of Germany’s population had been completely vaccinated as of Tuesday, with 50.8 percent receiving a booster. Vaccination rates have slowed again after increasing last month.
According to a YouGov poll, 60 percent of Germans still support vaccine mandate, down from 63 percent in December. Meanwhile, 32% of those polled said they were against the measure, up from 30%. On Monday, thousands of Germans gather to protest against Covid restrictions.
On Sunday, Germany recorded 85,440 new infections, with the 7-day incidence rate reaching an all-time high of 806.8 cases per 100,000 people.
