Germany considers vaccines mandatory due to the threat of the fifth wave

With warnings that it is facing a fifth wave of Covid cases, Germany is discussing the possibility of introducing a general mandate for the vaccine next year.

Vienna announced this week that stabs will be mandatory from 1 February 2022, which prompted Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder to increase the chances of Germany following suit.

“As in Austria, we need to talk about the need for a vaccine mandate for everything from the second half of next year,” said Mr Söder, who gained popularity during the pandemic by strongly supporting heavy state intervention.

The case dominated German headlines on Saturday.

Der Spiegel columnist Sophie Garbe called for mandatory vaccines that the non-enforcement was “one of the biggest mistakes of the pandemic.”

“We are protecting the alleged freedom of individuals, but in the end we are restricting the freedoms of everyone else,” she wrote.

However, not everyone agrees. It’s about “my body, my choice – this applies not only to abortion and euthanasia, but also to vaccines,” argued Anna Schneider of Die Welt newspaper.

The vaccine rate in Germany is just under 70 percent, which is lower than many of its Western European neighbors. About 3.5 million people over the age of 60 are not stabbed.