German lawmakers are debating whether to create a COVID vaccine registry as the key political parties are moving closer to consensus on mandatory vaccinations.
Speaking to Welt Am Sonntag this past weekend, Bärbel Bas, a member of Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) and president of the German Bundestag, said that while the “data situation” is now “significantly better than at the beginning of the pandemic,” there is an urgent need for a national vaccination registry to get a more “accurate understanding” of the vaccination rates in the country.
Currently, Berlin is acquiring its COVID vaccination data from vaccination centers and clinics, after that data is processed by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) — a German version of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That data, according to Deutsche Welle, provides only general information on regional and national vaccine rates, but does not link individuals to their vaccine status. That is not satisfactory for some German politicians who, as Bas put it, want to know “exact numbers.”
For example, complained Bas, the government “assumes” that some 90 percent of nursing staff are vaccinated, while there is a need to know precisely who is vaccinated and who is not for better “contact tracing” in case of new outbreaks. Healthcare workers were ordered on December 10 to get a vaccine or show proof of having recovered from COVID by March 2022.
The Bundestag president added that a registry would help to “record corona infections,” which presumably will help to track breakthrough infections and will help the government “to be better equipped in the long term.”
Bas also said there were a number of issues that needed to be addressed as the country embraced the idea of mandatory vaccination for all eligible citizens.
For example, if the government, using a federal vaccination database, sees breakthrough infections in vaccinated individuals, it would mean that “the vaccine remains ineffective with a certain virus variant,” so the vaccinations could be readjusted — presumably, to start administering strain-specific boosters, or find who is due for their annual “revaccinations,” as drugmakers suggest.
Other politicians see a direct correlation between compulsory vaccination and creation of the vaccine registry.
A chairman of the second largest party in the Bundestag, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Friedrich Merz said that enforcement of the mandate would not be possible without a national database.
“So far we have no national vaccination register, we do not know who is vaccinated and who is not. And the question of the implementation of such a law is, in my opinion, at least as important as the discussion of the mandate as such,” Merz said.
SPD Secretary General Kevin Künhart, unlike Bas, stated that he rejected the idea of collecting people’s medical data for the purposes of creating a vaccination registry since it would create a “fundamental danger that … would open the door for further access to [other sensitive] data,” Künhert said.
Your Papers Please!
Incoming Chancellor Olaf Sholz of SPD has already announced his support for a national vaccine mandate, as he blamed the unvaccinated for a surge in COVID infections. He sees no problem in banning them from “non-essential” places.
He has also signaled that punishments for those who refuse to get the COVID-19 vaccine are on the table.
States governed by premiers from Scholz’s party have also called for the federal government to officially limit the recognition of individuals as being “fully vaccinated” to six months after their last shot, citing the waning efficacy of the vaccines after that period, meaning people will need to get boosted every six months to participate in so-called society.
Since the Omicron variant made its way to Germany, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach has urged decision makers to make COVID vaccination mandatory “immediately” for the entire population.
“The goal of mandatory vaccination is to reach those who are not convinced by medical arguments,” the minister said, “Mandatory vaccinations, along with a successful reinforcement campaign, are two things that will help us overcome the crisis.”
Lauterbach also noted that he expects Germany’s vaccine panel (STIKO) to recommend shortening the gap between the initial inoculation and boosting to address the spread of the Omicron strain.
Echoing the minister’s plea, Germany’s Federal Medical Association is also calling for a vaccine mandate to stop the “endless loop of lockdowns,” even though fully vaccinated people still get COVID and even land in the hospital, as Germany has seen for itself.
Outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel reportedly said earlier this month that an ethics committee of the Parliament will be asked to draft legislation to make vaccination compulsory for all, and that the Bundestag would debate and vote on the measure in February “at the latest.”
Unvaccinated Germans and those who cannot provide proof of recovery from COVID have already been barred from Christmas shopping and other social holiday activities since the beginning of December, and will face additional restrictions starting December 28.
Restrictions that are already introduced and those in the making, apparently, enjoy overwhelming support among the population, with 70 percent of Germans favoring “more restrictions” and mandatory jabs while only 17 percent believe the rules “go too far.” Notably, almost 70 percent of Germans are fully vaccinated. If by this time someone remains unvaccinated, it likely means that he or she does not wish to get a shot.
Wolfgang Kubicki, vice president of the Bundestag, is one of the dissenting voices, and likens mandatory vaccination to the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution. In a recent interview, he said that he was “appalled by the Jacobin behavior” of so many of his fellow compatriots who seem to be seeking “revenge and retribution” against those who refuse the jab.
He added that blaming the unvaccinated for the increasing infection caseload was “complete nonsense.”
The discussions on the centralized vaccination registry and mandatory jabs come as Germany quietly yet forcibly moves those who violate “Corona quarantines” — those who test positive yet dare to leave their homes — to quarantine facilities.
The idea of mandatory medical treatment is gaining momentum in the Old World that seems to have failed to learn from its history’s darkest pages.
Austria is set to enact mandatory vaccinations in February.
Greece has announced mandatory jabs for all citizens who are 60 and older, threatening those who don’t get the jab with a recurring monthly fine of €100 ($113), starting on January 16.
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen implied in November that it was time for the bloc to “think about mandatory [COVID] vaccination.”
