Düsseldorf (dpa / lnw) - The North Rhine-Westphalian City Council calls for a clear, pragmatic course in dealing with the facility-related corona vaccination requirement. State chairman Thomas Kufen criticized that the fact that the obligation to vaccinate medical and nursing staff should only apply for a limited time and until the end of the year does not help.
"This lurching course is surprising given the fact that by autumn at the latest we will be calling on citizens to take vaccinations against the corona virus," said the mayor of Essen to the "Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung" (Monday). "Who should understand that?".
The Bundestag and Bundesrat had decided on facility-related vaccination requirements in December last year. Employees in facilities with vulnerable people such as nursing homes and clinics then had to prove by mid-March 2022 that they were vaccinated or recovered. So far, this regulation is only provided by law until the end of 2022 and would be dropped again if the Infection Protection Act were not changed.
NRW Health Minister Karl-Josef Laumann (CDU) has already spoken out in favor of not extending the institution-related vaccination requirement beyond the end of the year. The hospital company made a similar statement.
For the municipalities, the back and forth is associated with a great deal of administrative work, as reported by the WAZ. Although the vaccination rate in medical and nursing professions is estimated at well over 90 percent, due to the high total number of employees, thousands of individual tests have to be processed in the health authorities. According to the NRW Ministry of Health, more than 20,000 employees were reported nationwide without full vaccination protection, who are currently still in the process.
The cities must contact those who have not been vaccinated, organize a hearing and impose fines of up to 2,500 euros if they do not respond. Before a ban on entry and activity is actually issued, the employer can still assert the indispensability of the person concerned for the company in view of the shortage of skilled workers.
