The health ministers of the federal states are demanding more information from the Federal Ministry of Health on the specific implementation of the decided facility-related compulsory vaccination against Corona. They are also in favor of examining a multi-stage procedure so that unvaccinated employees do not have to be immediately banned from working. They are also calling for the Novavax vaccine, which will soon be available, to be offered primarily to this group of people.
In a joint decision after a switching conference of the heads of department on Saturday, the Federal Ministry of Health is asked to clarify all open questions on the subject “immediately” together with the federal states, for example to whom exactly the vaccination obligation should apply, what exceptions there are and how those affected belong will.
The so-called facility-related corona vaccination obligation was decided in mid-December: Employees in facilities with vulnerable people such as clinics and nursing homes have until March 15, 2022 to prove that they have been vaccinated or have recovered. Otherwise, the health department can issue a ban on activities. Critics have repeatedly expressed fears that mandatory vaccinations in the already tightly occupied care sector could result in the loss of more workers.
The health ministers are now calling for an examination of whether fines could be imposed before an activity ban. In its decision, the Conference of Health Ministers also sees it “as necessary to give priority to vaccinating the Novavax vaccine to previously unvaccinated employees in the affected facilities”. Novavax should be available from the end of February. The vaccine could be an alternative for skeptics because it is based on a different technology than the corona preparations that have been available so far.