Chancellor Olaf Soltz expressed frustration late Thursday night with the Federal Parliament voting against a proposal to make Covid-19 compulsory vaccination available to citizens over the age of 60, hinting that his government would not bring the issue up again. in Parliament.
“I find the Bundestag decision very clear. There is no legislative majority in Parliament for compulsory vaccination. “This is a reality that we must now take as a starting point for our actions,” Soltz told a news conference following a conference of state prime ministers.
“I’m really sorry, I do not want to hide it. “One wants to continue to do what is possible in order for the vaccination rate to be higher in the autumn than today,” the chancellor stressed. Asked if voting against the proposal in Parliament was tantamount to his personal defeat, he said: “It would be disrespectful to claim that the result in the Bundestag was an accident. “I pushed hard (in favor of compulsory vaccination) because I am in favor of it, but I fully respect democratic decisions.”
Following the failure of the mandatory vaccination proposal, there is growing concern about new, stricter measures, or even a lockdown in the fall.
“Vaccination helps to avoid drastic restrictions on economic and social life (…) was not a good day to fight the pandemic,” said German employer president Rainer Dulger, commenting on the Bundestag decision Health of Berlin, Baden-Württemberg, Brandenburg and Hesse, stressing in a joint statement that “the pandemic will not end with personal appeals and, without sufficient vaccination protection for the population, there is a risk of a new wave and therefore new restrictions.” . Ministers again spoke in favor of compulsory vaccination.
The welfare associations of the Protestant Church also commented that “a great opportunity was lost to bring the pandemic under permanent control.” This will again be paid for by the sick, children and the elderly, said Diocese President Ulrich Lilie, adding that the result of the vote would be particularly damaging to health workers, both because fewer people would be vaccinated and because, inevitably, hospitals are in danger of facing a huge workload and pressure again.
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