The corona vaccination requirement in the healthcare system is limited until the end of the year, it was intended as a prelude to a general vaccination requirement. But this has failed. What next?
Erfurt (dpa/th) - Thuringia's Health Minister Heike Werner (left) can only imagine extending the compulsory corona vaccination in the healthcare system if this is coupled with a general obligation to vaccinate against Covid-19. "I think that without such a connection, the facility-related vaccination requirement would not be upheld either," Werner told the German Press Agency. She thinks it is conceivable to introduce a general obligation to vaccinate initially only for people over 60 years of age.
The compulsory corona vaccination in the health care system anchored in the Federal Infection Protection Act only applies until the end of this year. By mid-March, health and care facilities had not had to report employees who were not sufficiently immunized against Covid-19 to the health authorities. These authorities are currently deciding on fines or, as a last step, on bans on activities for unvaccinated people in the facilities. According to the ministry, around 12,500 employees in the Thuringian healthcare system did not have the necessary proof of immunity at the end of June, so fine proceedings were initiated against 140.
Even those who start a new job in the healthcare sector must prove when they are hired that they have been vaccinated against Covid-19 or have recovered from the disease in a timely manner, or that they cannot take advantage of the vaccination for medical reasons.
Medical associations and representatives of clinics in Thuringia recently called for the corona vaccination requirement for staff in health and care facilities to be suspended at least until autumn and then to discuss general vaccination requirements again. Although the vaccination obligation for this staff is fundamentally reasonable, they argued that it currently leads to unnecessary pressure, disadvantage and staff shortages in the industry.
