Iis compulsory vaccination already dead? The apex of the omicron wave seems to have been passed, many are longing for March 20th, when most corona measures should end – and a feeling is spreading again that has arisen at some point after each wave of the pandemic: Is it really still necessary?
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Oliver Georgi
Editor in the politics of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sunday newspaper.
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A good 60 million Germans have now been vaccinated twice and have basic immunity against the virus, at least 75 percent of the total population. More than 46 million people are even boosted. According to virologists, three contacts with the spike protein – either three vaccinations or just two and an additional infection – provide good protection against infection and severe courses. Because the disease is usually milder if you have been vaccinated twice, but old people and people with previous illnesses remain at risk, the Standing Vaccination Committee recommends a booster vaccination for everyone over the age of 18. Vulnerable groups should even be boosted a second time.
The benefit of a second booster shot for everyone is not yet entirely clear. But one thing is clear: the vaccination helps against the virus, without it it would be unthinkable to relax the corona restrictions now. Despite this, 20 million Germans are still unvaccinated. The rate of vaccination has also been falling for a few weeks. This could also be due to the fact that many consider the vaccination to be superfluous because of the milder omicron variant and the prospect of the pandemic ending soon.
Politicians can only get it wrong
It is precisely now that vaccination is being discussed. The politicians are thus faced with a dilemma. Either they do not introduce compulsory vaccination. Then a new mutant could have an easy time in the fall, and politicians would be accused of having acted too carelessly again. Or what experts call the precautionary paradox occurs: compulsory vaccination comes and is successful. The wave doesn’t come up or it’s mild – and then it’s like: You see, everything was completely exaggerated!
Politicians can only lose in such a situation, which is why they are having such a hard time with compulsory vaccination. There have been five group applications for cross-party voting in the Bundestag since this week. Two want compulsory vaccination. One for everyone over the age of 18 and one only for people over 50, but this should only apply if the vaccination rate cannot be significantly increased beforehand through obligatory consultations. There are also two motions against compulsory vaccination, one by the AfD parliamentary group and one by a group of MPs led by Wolfgang Kubicki from the FDP. The Union faction does not want to decide on vaccination for the time being, but create an opportunity to be able to introduce it quickly if necessary. A vaccination register should already be created for this.
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Vaccination center in Berlin-Tegel: Five group applications on the subject of compulsory vaccination have been available in the Bundestag since last week :
Image: dpa
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With this approach, the Union is trying to avoid the dilemma of compulsory vaccination. The proponents therefore accuse her of being less concerned with the matter than with strategic opposition to the traffic lights before the state elections. The Union model is also far too sluggish, criticizes the Greens health politician Janosch Dahmen: “It is not realistic to vaccinate three million adults in October in a short time when the numbers are already rising quickly.”
