thousands of people have on Sunday in Prague against compulsory corona vaccination for older people and certain professional groups protested. The participants gathered in the central Wenceslas Square. The effectiveness of currently available vaccines was questioned in slogans, and some spoke out against vaccinations for children. Then the demonstrators marched through the Czech capital. There had been similar but smaller protests in several other cities on Saturday.
At the beginning of December, the previous government made vaccination compulsory for people over the age of 60 and for medical professionals, police officers, firefighters and medical students. The order is due to come into force on March 1st, but it could still be overturned. The cabinet of the previous Prime Minister Andrej Babis was replaced in mid-December by the new government alliance made up of five parties, which prevailed in the parliamentary elections in October. At its head is the new Prime Minister Petr Fiala.
The new government is against compulsory vaccination for the elderly and is ready to accept this decision. At the same time, she did not rule out the possibility that there might still be vaccination regulations for some groups, depending on the course of the pandemic. The new government plans to announce its decision on this matter by mid-February.
The Czech health authorities assume that the Omikron variant of the coronavirus will dominate the country next week.