Germany Parliament decided on Friday that vaccination against Covid-19 would be a legal requirement for medical and healthcare professionals from next March.
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The proposal was tabled by the new center-left coalition and received strong support from across the political spectrum in parliament.
Hospital and nursing home staff must show that they have been vaccinated or recovered from being infected with the Covid-19 virus in order to go to work.
A recent negative Covid-19 test alone will not suffice.
The law also extends the list of professions that will be able to inject Covid-19 vaccines to include pharmacists, dentists and veterinarians.
The 16 Länder, which are primarily responsible for implementing health policy, will be given the power to impose restrictions, including the closure of individual institutions, for pandemic purposes.
In the coalition talks, the new government’s partners agreed to abandon the broad “arcade” and allowed the emergency legislation to expire last month.
Addressing the Bundestag on Friday, Health Minister Karl Lauterbah emphasized that fighting the pandemic was among the coalition’s top priorities.
A sitting of the upper house of parliament was convened on Friday to consider the bill as a matter of urgency.
