Erfurt (dpa/th) - Many Thuringian municipalities have been reluctant to pay fines when it comes to facility-related vaccination requirements. Some are now suspending the proceedings. According to the Ministry of Health, the city of Jena and the district of Schmalkalden-Meiningen have now completed the procedures for facility-related compulsory vaccination.

In Jena, the step is justified, among other things, with the tense personnel situation. The city administration had to use the staff for other measures to limit the chain of infection, said a spokesman. The district administrator of the district of Schmalkalden-Meiningen, Peggy Greiser, questioned the basic effectiveness of the fines.

Since March 2022, employees of clinics, nursing homes and similar institutions must provide proof of full vaccination or recovery. According to the Ministry of Health, around 13,900 people in Bavaria were registered without proof of vaccination by the end of October. By the end of October, around 2,100 fine procedures had been initiated in Thuringia. Profession or activity bans were therefore not imposed.