The facility-related vaccination requirement for health and care professions has been controversial from the start. The scheme is now due to expire at the end of the year. The Federal Ministry of Health justified this decision with the new Omikron variant BQ1.1.
The corona vaccination requirement for staff in health and care facilities is expected to expire at the end of the year. As a reason, a spokesman for the Federal Ministry of Health pointed out that the omicron subline BQ1.1 or similar variants would probably dominate the infection process by the turn of the year.
The corona vaccinations then still prevented a serious illness, but probably only limited transmission of the virus, said the spokesman for the AFP news agency. “Therefore, there is no medical justification for the institution-related vaccination requirement.” According to the Robert Koch Institute, the BA.5 subline BQ.1.1 has been spreading in Germany for several weeks. In the second week of November, their share was eight percent. It is a so-called immune escape variant.
This means that the virus can bypass the immune system better than the previous variants and the infection or transmission intensity is higher. The facility-related vaccination requirement stipulates that employees in health and care have had to present proof of vaccination or recovery since March 15th. If this does not happen, this must be reported to the health department. This examines the case and decides on how to proceed. Sanctions ranging from fines to a ban on activities are possible. Until the end of the examination, however, it is generally possible for the person concerned to continue working.
The scheme has been controversial from the start. In October, Bavaria, Saxony and Thuringia called for an end to the facility-related corona vaccination requirement. Most recently, the federal care representative, Claudia Moll from the SPD, also agreed to this demand.