“Compulsory vaccination is a discussion that must be made” « kleinezeitung.at

The discussion about compulsory vaccination has now also reached the European Union.

4:17 pm, December 1, 2021

Compulsory vaccination is a “discussion that has to be had,” von der Leyen said at a press conference, thus starting a discussion about compulsory vaccination. A common approach is needed in the Member States. She stressed that the decision, however, was the responsibility of the respective national governments, not their place to make recommendations. “We have lifesaving vaccines, but they are not used in sufficient quantities everywhere,” said the former CDU politician. This would result in enormous health care costs to society.

The qualified doctor justified this by the prevalence of the new Omikron variant and the fact that a third of EU citizens About 150 million people are not yet vaccinated against the virus he is. But this is a matter for the Member States. “This needs discussion and a common approach, at least one has to talk about it.”

Von der Leyen also said: “This is completely within the purview of Member States, it is not my place to make recommendations here. If you ask me for my personal opinion: two or three years ago I would have never thought I would. Watch what happens now. We have this pandemic. Terrible, and we have lifesaving vaccines — and they are not being used appropriately.”

Weeks ago, Austria was the first country in the European Union to agree to a universal vaccination requirement from February. He was the appointed Federal Chancellor of Germany Olaf Schulz On Tuesday, it announced a legislative process for the universal vaccination requirement. According to him, it could start this year.

The epidemic continues December 16 and 17 are also a topic at the EU Summit. On Wednesday, the European Union Commission called on national governments to take “targeted and proportionate preventive and restrictive measures”. These should be discussed at the EU level. According to von der Leyen, great care should be taken because of the “omicron variant that is assumed to be highly contagious”.

Major travel restrictions should be checked daily.