Bundestag President Bärbel Bas (SPD) has warned of the quick introduction of a general corona vaccination requirement: “We should really take our time for a vaccination requirement and not break our knees,” she told the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung. She considers a Bundestag resolution in January to be “premature”. Parliament had to deal thoroughly with the complex and controversial issue. “After all, it is also about the physical integrity of the people, and many see this threatened,” said Bas. “It has to be taken seriously.” On December 2nd, the federal and state governments asked the Bundestag to adopt a “timely” resolution so that the general vaccination requirement could take effect “from around February”.
“If we weren’t finished until March, that would be perfectly fine,” said Bas. It should “not happen” that the heated debate distracts from the real task of vaccinating more people immediately. If the goal of driving the vaccination quota towards 80 or even 90 percent is achieved, “we may no longer need any compulsory vaccinations,” emphasized Bas. “Everyone who gets vaccinated now contributes to it.”
If there is a compulsory vaccination, it can only be done with a register, said the SPD politician: “Compulsory vaccination only makes sense with a national vaccination register.” This is the only way to avoid forgeries and only with such a register can people be targeted when it comes to the next booster appointment. At the beginning of December, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) expressed “skepticism” about the introduction of a vaccination register. There is also resistance from the coalition partner FDP.