German parliament rejects plans for mandatory Covid vaccines

German parliament rejects plans for mandatory Covid vaccines.

GERMAN parliament has rejected plans from Chancellor Olaf Scholz to make Covid vaccines mandatory for over-60s.

Voting in parliament on Thursday, April 7 went against Scholz’s coalition with only 296 votes in favour of the proposal and 378 against, from 674 voting Bundestag MPs.

A simple majority was needed for the bill, which was also supported by Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, to be passed, however, the loss means that Austria is now officially the only place where Covid vaccination is a mandatory condition of living in the country, as reported by Bloomberg.

Scholz had previously suggested that vaccines should be mandatory for all adults. However, the chancellor had faced strong opposition from within his own governing coalition, the smaller neoliberal FDP.

According to DW, Wolfgang Kubicki, senior member of the FDP, had been against the proposed plan, noting that vaccines “would not help us reach heard immunity” and that adults should not to be forced into have the jab.

“It is not the job of this house to protect adults against their own will,” Kubicki said. 

Prior to today’s voting about the vaccine, the country made a U-turn on its mandatory isolation protocol.

Speaking on Wednesday, April 6, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach that the country will not end mandatory isolation for most people who catch the virus, noting that it was a mistake to suggest an end to the quarantine rule.

“Coronavirus is not a cold,” he said on Twitter.

“That is why there must continue to be isolation after an infection.”

For more EU news, please click on the link here.

Thank you for taking the time to read this article, do remember to come back and check The Euro Weekly News website for all your up-to-date local and international news stories and remember, you can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram.