The court announced that it would publish the decision on its website.
(Photo: dpa)
Karlsruhe The vaccination requirement for staff in clinics and care facilities can come into force in mid-March. The Federal Constitutional Court rejected urgent applications from numerous people affected to stop compulsory vaccination on Friday.
The obligation to vaccinate applies to employees in facilities such as clinics, nursing homes and medical practices and was decided by the Bundestag and Bundesrat on December 10th. It is intended to protect old and weak people from infection with the corona virus.
Those affected must prove by March 15, 2022 that they are fully vaccinated or have recovered – or submit a certificate that they cannot be vaccinated. If there is no proof, the health department must be informed. It can issue a ban on entry or activity, but has discretion.
Meanwhile, the tone has intensified in the conflict over making vaccinations compulsory for healthcare workers. Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP) sharply attacked Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU): “In the rule of law, laws apply. If the rulers themselves choose which laws they abide by and which they don’t, tyranny is not far away,” Buschmann tweeted on Wednesday evening.
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CSU General Secretary Markus Blume countered: “The amateurism of the traffic light parties is damaging to democracy.” It is the task of the Minister of Justice to clarify existing legal uncertainties instead of distracting from their own failures on Twitter.
>> Read here: How can the general obligation to vaccinate be checked? Health insurance companies don’t want to play auxiliary police
Söder announced on Monday that it would suspend the compulsory vaccination, which will come into effect in mid-March. It cannot be implemented in its current form, and the federal government must improve it.
Health Minister Klaus Holetschek (CSU) said on Bayerischer Rundfunk that Bavaria still thinks compulsory vaccination is a good idea. However, the introduction will be postponed by a “few weeks” because many questions are unanswered. Söder had initially spoken of “the most generous transitional regulations”, which “de facto initially amounted to a suspension of enforcement”. “For how many months, we will see.”
Saxony-Anhalt’s Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff (CDU) sees the current debate as a bad omen for the possible general obligation to vaccinate. He does not dare to answer conclusively how opinions are formed in the Bundestag. “But one thing is certain: If it is not possible to get facility-related vaccination requirements sensibly on the way, then I see little chance for general vaccination requirements,” said Haseloff.
More: Follow the current developments in the corona crisis in our news blog