German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Germans to be vaccinated on Saturday in a weekly video podcast of more than 600 chancellors a few days before she left office.
“Once again, I empathetically urge you to take this insidious virus seriously,” said the chancellor, who is currently washing the fourth wave of the coronavirus across Germany, calling it “very serious” and even “dramatic”, with overcrowding in some parts of the country.
“In particular, the new form of omicron seems to be even more infectious than the previous ones. Get vaccinated – whether it’s your first vaccine or a booster dose,” she added.
After 16 years in power, Merkel is expected to hand over the reins of power to Social Democrat Olaf Scholz on Wednesday after a parliamentary vote on the new chancellor.
In the podcast, Merkel thanked “those who are responsible and understanding in these difficult times” and “hold on to protect themselves and take care of others.”
“You are the vast majority in this country. You are demonstrating a civic responsibility that is truly wonderful for our country and without which no chancellor and no government would be able to achieve anything.”
One of Olaf Scholz’s first steps as head of government is expected to be the adoption of a law on compulsory vaccination from February or March next year.
Most of the political spectrum now supports this idea, which until recently did not have unequivocal support.
Recalling her first video podcast in 2006, Merkel said it was “very unusual for the head of government at the time to address the public on the web so directly.”
Over the years, Merkel has covered various topics from digitization to anti-Semitism in her podcasts, but she has often talked about the pandemic over the past two years.
–
–
