Heiko Maas suggested that those vaccinated against the coronavirus receive certain privileges

Citizens who have been vaccinated against Kovid-19 and have developed immunity should be able to return to public life. This was stated by German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas in an interview with “Bild am Sonntag”, quoted by TASS.

I think that people who have been vaccinated should be able to exercise their basic rights again, says Maas. According to him, they will not get sick and will not have to be placed in intensive care units or be connected to lung ventilators. And if only vaccinated people enter the restaurants, they will not harm each other, the minister noted.

Maas rarely speaks on domestic issues. He is the first minister in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government to offer vaccinations to the vaccinated. This idea is not popular in Germany, TASS noted.

So far, more than one million people, or just over 1 percent of the population, have been vaccinated in the country. Residents of nursing homes and medics were the first to be immunized. Strict quarantine has been in force in Germany since 16 December; almost all shops except grocery stores are closed.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis recently proposed that vaccinated people be given the right to travel freely in the EU. This, he said, will also encourage citizens to be vaccinated, “because only in this way can a return to normalcy be guaranteed.” The prime minister believes that a single European immunization passport should be introduced for this purpose – a standardized certificate that the bearer has been successfully vaccinated against the coronavirus. Mitsotakis sent a letter with this proposal to the President of the European Commission Ursula von del Layen.

Mitsotakis’ letter adds fuel to a debate that has been simmering in the EU since last month: is it possible for vaccinated people to return to their normal life immediately, or should they show solidarity with other EU citizens so far? which will have enough vaccines for everyone, Deutsche Welle noted.

Mass vaccination started in Greece today. Priority is given to people over 85 years of age. For the small islands, where there are no hospitals, they sent military teams with doctors who vaccinate the elderly.

To a request like this from the Greek prime minister, the World Health Organization responded: “Do not currently introduce requirements for proof of vaccination or immunity for international travel as a condition of entry, as there are still critical unknowns regarding the effectiveness of vaccination for reduction of infection and limited availability of vaccines “.

Evidence of vaccination should not exempt travelers from complying with the announced measures for international travel aimed at reducing the risk of infection.

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