On Wednesday, the country recorded 446 Covid-19 related deaths – its highest number of daily deaths in nine months. Germany continues to see a record-breaking number of cases, particularly in its eastern states. Germany, much like Austria, has one of the lowest vaccination rates in western Europe, with 68.4% and 65.6% of their populations fully vaccinated respectively, according to the ECDC. This needs a common approach but it is a discussion that I think has to be led,” she added. “How we can encourage and potentially think about mandatory vaccination within the European Union, this needs discussion. “Two or three years ago, I would never have thought to witness what we see right now, that we have this horrible pandemic, we have the vaccines, the life-saving vaccines, but they are not being used adequately everywhere,” von der Leyen told a press briefing Wednesday. But European countries are showing it can work Making Covid-19 vaccines mandatory was once unthinkable. (Photo by JOE KLAMAR / AFP) (Photo by JOE KLAMAR/AFP via Getty Images) Joe Klamar/AFP/Getty Images Authorities began vaccinating children between 5 and 11 against coronavirus in the capital on November 15, 2021, among soaring rates that saw a country wide lockdown for some two million people who have not been fully vaccinated against Covid-19. People wait in line for the corona vaccine outside of Christmas Market in front of Vienna's city hall in Vienna, Austria on November 15, 2021. Those refusing to do so would face 100 euro (US $113) fines for each passing month, the government said Tuesday.Įuropean Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said it was time to “potentially think about mandatory vaccination” within the bloc, as it faces the double onslaught of a fourth coronavirus wave and concerns over the Omicron variant discovered by South African health officials last week. If approved, Germany’s vaccine mandate would follow in the footsteps of neighboring Austria, which also plans to make inoculations for eligible adults compulsory from February.Įlsewhere, Greece announced that vaccines would be mandatory for people aged over 60 from mid-January. She added that vaccinated people will lose their vaccination status nine months after getting their last shot, apparently in an effort to encourage booster uptake. “The fourth wave must be broken and this has not yet been achieved,” she added.Ī nationwide vaccination mandate could come into effect from February 2022 – after it is debated in parliament and following guidance from Germany’s Ethics Council, Merkel said. “We have understood that the situation is very serious and that we want to take further measures in addition to those already taken,” Merkel told reporters at Thursday’s news conference. The press briefing is also Merkel’s last before she leaves office a grim note to end her 16 years as German chancellor. The announcement comes as Germany battles a surge in cases that has pushed Europe back to the epicenter of the pandemic, heightening fears over the newly discovered Omicron variant. Acting Chancellor Angela Merkel and Olaf Scholz hold a press conference on tightened Covid-19 restrictions Thursday.
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