German court gives go-ahead for mandatory vaccination in healthcare

Berlin, Feb 12 Germany's Federal Constitutional Court (BVerfG) has rejected an urgent appeal to suspend mandatory Covid-19 vaccination for nursing and healthcare workers in the country.

The vaccination obligation in healthcare met "no pervasive constitutional concerns at the time of this decision", the court said in a statement.

The mandatory vaccination of healthcare workers was approved by Germany's lower and upper parliaments, Bundestag and Bundesrat, in early December, reports Xinhua news agency.

It requires employees in hospitals, doctors' offices or nursing homes to provide proof of full vaccination protection or recovery by mid-March 2022.

Despite record Covid-19 seven-day-incidence rates, the country's vaccination campaign has slowed down recently.

As of this week, 74.7 per cent of the total population were fully vaccinated and 55.2 per cent received a booster shot, according to official data.

"It is now a matter of protecting those who are particularly dependent on it, sick people and the oldest members of our society," said Chancellor Olaf Scholz during his first speech in the Bundesrat on Friday on the debate on mandatory vaccination for healthcare workers.

A final decision on the constitutionality of the law was still pending, the court noted.

The appeal had been filed by unvaccinated employees and facility managers who wanted to keep their unvaccinated employees.