{"id":1211808,"date":"2022-01-12T16:19:59","date_gmt":"2022-01-12T21:19:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1211808"},"modified":"2022-01-12T16:20:06","modified_gmt":"2022-01-12T21:20:06","slug":"german-president-wants-debate-on-mandatory-vaccination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/german-president-wants-debate-on-mandatory-vaccination\/","title":{"rendered":"German President Wants &#039;Debate&#039; on Mandatory Vaccination"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fgerman-president-wants-debate-on-mandatory-vaccination%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1211808&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/GettyImages-1237598588-e1642009781168-640x335-1.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"subheading\">BERLIN (AP) \u2013 Germany\u2019s president called Wednesday for a thorough debate over plans for compulsory coronavirus vaccinations for all adults in the country, saying such a drastic measure needs to be fully justified.<\/p>\n<p>Chancellor Olaf Scholz has backed calls for a vaccine mandate and lawmakers are expected to begin debating a bill later this month. Polls show a majority of people in Germany back compulsory vaccination against COVID-19, but a vocal minority opposes the idea.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cI, for one, consider it necessary and will actively campaign for it,\u201d Scholz told lawmakers in parliament in Berlin, adding that not getting vaccinated was not a personal decision since it has consequences for the entire society.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u00b4s no decision you make just for yourself, and that\u00b4s why mandatory vaccination is also important,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>At a roundtable debate with citizens on the issue, however, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said \u201cthe exceptional situation of a pandemic increases the pressure for the state to act, but it doesn\u2019t replace the requirement to weigh up arguments and balance interests.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cA vaccine mandate means a debate mandate,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Steinmeier, whose role is largely ceremonial, said he wouldn\u2019t take sides in the debate but urged those involved to have \u201crespect for other positions, but also respect for facts and reason, that must be and remain our common currency.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He dismissed as \u201ccomplete nonsense claims that the coronavirus pandemic has turned Germany into a dictatorship.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAmong friends, at work, in schools, in daycare centers, in clinics and nursing homes, in city halls, health offices and parliaments, people everywhere are trying to figure out together what needs to be done\u201d to fight the pandemic, Steinmeier said. \u201cAnd that\u00b4s exactly what this democratic struggle is about.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Among the people debating was a nurse from Cologne and the head of a nursing home in Berlin, who both stressed how essential it is to be vaccinated so that especially the most vulnerable of society \u2013 those who are ill and old \u2013 can be protected from the virus.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B3\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p>A professor for health communication pointed out that a lot of the people who refuse to get vaccinated are simply afraid of the vaccines. Cornelia Betsch criticized authorities for initially missing many opportunities to better explain how safe and important the vaccines are.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMany people are simply afraid of getting vaccinated and a mandate can create counter feelings,\u201d she said, encouraging efforts to reach out to talk to those who are hesitant about vaccinations.<\/p>\n<p>Around 72.2% of Germans are considered fully vaccinated, while at least 44.2 % have received an additional booster shot.<\/p>\n<p>Germany\u2019s disease control agency reported 80,430 new cases of COVID-19 in one day, a pandemic record, and 384 additional deaths.<\/p>\n<p>Among those who oppose a vaccine mandate are some members of the Free Democrats, who are part of Germany\u2019s ruling coalition, and Germany\u00b4s former health minister, who pledged last summer not to introduce a general vaccine mandate. Political leaders have agreed to let lawmakers vote according to their own conscience on the issue.<\/p>\n<p>The looming mandate has been a rallying point for vocal anti-vaccine activists. Some recent demonstrations have turned violent in Germany, with protesters attacking police officers after being ordered to disperse.<\/p>\n<p>In neighboring Austria, the authorities on Wednesday ramped up the pressure on unvaccinated people by increasing spot controls in popular public places and shops. On Tuesday, police in Vienna alone checked people\u2019s\u00b4 vaccination status 5,100 times and made sure people were wearing masks outside if social distancing could not be observed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>BERLIN (AP) \u2013 Germany\u2019s president called Wednesday for a thorough debate over plans for compulsory coronavirus vaccinations for all adults in the country, saying such a drastic measure needs to &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1211808","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1211808","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/54"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1211808"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1211808\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1211808"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1211808"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1211808"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}