Karlsruhe has once again dealt with the obligation to vaccinate employees in the healthcare sector.
Karlsruhe The Federal Constitutional Court has confirmed the institution-related vaccination requirement. According to information on Thursday, the highest German court rejected a constitutional complaint against corresponding parts of the Infection Protection Act.
The judges in Karlsruhe argued that the protection of so-called vulnerable groups weighs constitutionally more heavily than the impairment of the fundamental rights of nursing and healthcare staff. (Az. 1 BvR 2649/21, decision of April 27, 2022)
The so-called facility-related compulsory vaccination is intended to protect old and weakened people from infection with the corona virus. They have a particularly high risk of becoming very ill or dying of it.
Employees in nursing homes and clinics, but also, for example, in doctor’s offices and outpatient services, midwives, masseurs and physiotherapists had to prove by March 15 that they were fully vaccinated or had recently recovered. New employees needed proof from March 16th.
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If this proof is missing, the facility must inform the health department. It can prohibit those affected from entering their workplace or continuing to work. There is an exception for people who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons.
The first senate of the constitutional court did not object to the compulsory vaccination in February in an urgent procedure. However, he critically noted that the law does not contain anything more specific about proof of vaccination and recovery
At that time, the judges examined what would have the worse consequences: if the court initially lets everything go, although the lawsuits would be justified – or if it initially suspends the obligation to vaccinate and this later turns out to be constitutional. This assessment of the consequences was to the detriment of the plaintiffs – mostly unvaccinated employees and facility managers who want to continue to employ unvaccinated staff.
>>Read here: News blog about the corona pandemic
“The very low probability of serious consequences of a vaccination is offset by the significantly higher probability of damage to the life and limb of vulnerable people,” the court said in February. The obligation to vaccinate meets “at the time of this decision no far-reaching constitutional concerns”. The facility-related compulsory vaccination could therefore be implemented as planned. However, a comprehensive examination of the constitutional complaints was still pending.
The adoption of this compulsory vaccination in the Bundestag and Bundesrat had triggered a wave of lawsuits: Dozens of constitutional complaints from hundreds of plaintiffs were received in Karlsruhe.
More: Chronicle of failure: Bundestag votes clearly against compulsory vaccination from the age of 60