Suhl (dpa/th) - Health Minister Heike Werner (left) expects the Thuringian health authorities to issue further fines against unvaccinated medical staff in the next few weeks. The notifications sent so far were just the beginning, Werner told the German Press Agency on Thursday in Suhl. Contrary to what was demanded by the FDP, the fine proceedings would not be stopped either. There is a federal law for the implementation of facility-related vaccination that nobody can ignore, said the minister.
According to the Ministry of Health in Erfurt, around 12,500 employees were reported to the municipal health departments by the end of June, who work in the health system of the Free State and who do not have any legally required proof of a corona vaccination. So far, fine proceedings have been initiated against 140 of them. According to data from the State Office for Statistics, around 70,000 people work in the hospitals, rehabilitation clinics and care facilities in the state.
During a visit to the central clinic in Suhl and a nursing home in Schleusingen, representatives of the management of both facilities explained that the implementation of compulsory vaccination in the healthcare system is currently one of the greatest challenges of all. You could not do without any staff.
Werner said that one reason why the health authorities in Thuringia have so far issued only a few fines against unvaccinated people is that the authorities are still busy with many other tasks. In addition, some offices are now struggling with a high level of sick leave as a result of corona infections among their own staff.
