Pressure on the unvaccinated grows in Germany with new bans
In the midst of the political debate on the possible dictation of compulsory vaccination to the entire population or to certain professionals, the “Bundeswehr”, the Federal Army announced on Tuesday that it will forcibly immunize all its troops. A spokesman for the federal Ministry of Defense stressed that its political leadership and a representation of its staff have agreed to include the coronavirus vaccine among all those that are already mandatory for all military personnel, such as tetanus or yellow fever. Those in uniform who refuse may be punished with disciplinary measures. This action was already authorized by the Federal Administrative Court regardless of the covid-19 epidemic. The refusal of many soldiers to be vaccinated against the coronavirus so far has led to a high rate of infections in the troop. Some 1,200 soldiers were infected this Monday, according to ministerial sources.
Already on November 10, the head of the Territorial Tasks command, Major General Carsten Breuer, had ordered that only those soldiers who are fully immunized could assist civil society in the fight against the pandemic. Until mid-December it is expected that there will be 12,000 “Bundeswehr” health workers who help in vaccinating the civilian population or in tracking chains of coronavirus infections. Both only in the federal state of Saxony, one of the most affected by the fourth wave of the epidemic that vice-Germany, German military participate in a hundred aid missions, although they are also present in other regions affected by high rates of contagion such as Bavaria or Thuringia.
Meanwhile, pressure is growing in Germany to vaccinate those who have not done so until now. The Association of German Social Security Doctors today demanded the confinement in their homes of all people who are not yet vaccinated, mandatory vaccination for the entire population and that those who have not wanted to be immunized and end up hospitalized when they become infected and fall ill with coronavirus , personally assume a good part of the expense that they suppose for the sanitary coffers. “The high number of people who have not yet been vaccinated will otherwise lead to catastrophe and will overload our healthcare system to a point unknown until now. The issuance of the obligation to be vaccinated is no longer enough, “said the aforementioned association in a statement. The collection of a part of the hospital costs to the unvaccinated who become ill would bring with it “income that could be paid in addition to the health personnel of the hospitals and those dedicated to ambulatory care,” the note states.
In federal states such as Berlin, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria, Saxony or Thuringia, a ban has been issued or is about to come into force for all non-vaccinated people to visit shops other than basic necessities or the entrance to bars and restaurants. Only the vaccinated and healed have access to these venues, as well as to all kinds of cultural or sporting events. In discos, clubs and carnival parties, those vaccinated or healed must also present a recent negative test at the entrance. From this Wednesday and throughout Germany, only public transport, trains, subways and buses can be used, with a vaccination certificate, having healed or with a negative test. Punctual controls will be carried out, in many cases with auditors accompanied by policemen.
For his part, the president of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Lothar Wieler, made the umpteenth appeal to the German population to get vaccinated. Wieler stressed that 15 million adult citizens of this country have not yet been immunized and are largely responsible for the wave of infections that now affects the country. “For every 50,000 citizens who are infected, 400 will die,” the epidemiologist warned in statements to the weekly Die Zeit. Germany once again registered an absolute record in the incidence of the coronavirus today, with 399 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants in a week, although there are regions, such as the Berchtesgaden alpine with an incidence higher than 1,100. Most Germans also demand more radical measures to stop the spread of the virus. A poll by the Forsa demographic institute highlights that 71% of those surveyed consider the measures adopted last week by the acting government of Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel and the executives of the 16 federal states insufficient.
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