von der Leyen: „EU should debate mandatory vaccination“

von der Leyen: „EU should debate mandatory vaccination“

 

The European Union should discuss whether mandatory vaccinations are needed to help fight the ongoing spike in Covid-19 cases, as well as the new omicron variant, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday.

“I think it is understandable and appropriate to lead this discussion now — how we can encourage and potentially think about mandatory vaccination within the European Union,” she said during a news conference.

“This needs discussion. This needs a common approach. But it is a discussion that I think has to be led.”

Germany’s incoming chancellor Olaf Scholz threw his support behind making Covid-19 vaccine compulsory and called for a parliamentary vote on the plan.

Greece, meanwhile, is imposing a monthly fine of 100 Euros ($114) on people over 60 who aren’t vaccinated, calling it a health fee.

incidental remark by Oconomicus:

Should this greek subject which could cause „misunderstandings“ in terms of extortion and coercion debated immediately?

European Commission president says EU states need to discuss idea in response to spread of Omicron variant.

EU Should Discuss Mandatory Vaccinations, Von Der Leyen Says.

The EU must consider mandatory vaccination in response to the spread of the “highly contagious” Omicron Covid variant across Europe, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, has said.

In a call to arms, Von der Leyen said the EU’s 27 member states should rapidly deploy booster doses and backed countries that temporarily enforced pre-travel PCR tests even within the bloc’s borders.

Asked whether she supported the Greek government in imposing a €100 (£85) monthly fine on those aged 60 and over who failed to get a Covid jab,

Von der Leyen said the spread of the disease and the lack of vaccine take-up in parts of the EU meant mandatory vaccination had to be on the table as a policy response.

Speaking to reporters in Brussels, Von der Leyen, who practised as a doctor before her political career, said:

“If you’re asking me what my personal position is, two or three years ago, I would never have thought to witness what we see right now that we have this horrible pandemic. We have the vaccines, the life-saving vaccines, but they are not being used adequately everywhere. And this costs … This is an enormous health cost coming along.

If you look at the numbers, we have now 77% of the adults in the European Union vaccinated or if you take the whole population, it’s 66%. And this means one-third of the European population is not vaccinated. These are 150 million people.

This is a lot, and not each and every one can be vaccinated – children, for example, or people with special medical conditions – but the vast majority could and therefore, I think it is understandable and appropriate to lead this discussion now.

How we can encourage and potentially think about mandatory vaccination within the European Union, this needs discussion. This needs a common approach, but it is a discussion that I think has to be met.”

On Tuesday, Greece said it would make Covid vaccinations mandatory for people aged 60 in order to protect its faltering health system. About 63% of Greece’s 11 million population are fully vaccinated but there are 520,000 people over the age of 60 who have failed to get a jab.

Von der Leyen said:

“Over the last couple of weeks, many of us have witnessed it firsthand: Covid 19 has resurged infecting some of our close friends, co-workers, family members or loved ones. The rapidly increasing case numbers are putting an increasingly heavy strain on our hospitals and health workers. On top the arrival of the presumably highly contiguous Omicron variant calls for our utmost attention. But I am convinced that the EU is up to the task to tackle these challenges.”

EU mandatory vaccination debate

Stella Kyriakides, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, added:

“The high transmissibility of the Delta variant, a significantly high immunity gap and the easing of non-pharmaceutical interventions will bring us a challenging winter. The emergence of the Omicron variant only adds to the urgent need to vaccinate and to boost our immunity in order to break transmission chains. Where needed, effective public health measures, including social distancing and masks need to be introduced.  We must act quickly and decisively to limit the spread of the virus and mitigate its impact.”

The surge in cases of severe illness, especially among the unvaccinated, has resulted in an enormous pressure on hospitals and on already stretched healthcare staff. This also has a direct impact on the health of non-COVID patients as once again access to healthcare for other conditions is put under heavy strain by the need to treat COVID-19 patients.

Coordinated action to combat COVID-19

The EU and Member States must demonstrate the capacity to react swiftly in order to address the upsurge in the virus and to maintain the drive for a strong and sustainable long-term response to this threat. This calls for determined and urgent responses, including:

• The EU and Member States should continue to implement a joint strategy to limit the entry of the Omicron variant into the EU, with regular, daily reviews of essential travel restrictions. The EU and Member States should stand ready to impose all necessary controls;

• Member States should run renewed campaigns to target unvaccinated people in all eligible age groups, with targeted national strategies to address vaccine hesitancy;

• Member States should rapidly deploy booster doses to maintain strong levels of protection against the virus including the Omicron variant, starting with the most vulnerable groups;

• EU agencies should ensure that the necessary scientific guidance is rapidly available;

• The Commission will step up efforts to produce, authorize and jointly procure COVID-19 therapeutics;

• The European Parliament and the Council should adopt the European Health Union proposals and the HERA crisis regulation by the end of 2021;

• Member States should put in place targeted and proportionate precautions and restrictions to limit the spread of the virus, saving lives and reducing the pressure on healthcare systems. Full EU coordination should be assured. The onset of the Omicron variant means that particular attention should be paid to applying and communicating specific measures on contacts during the end-of-year period;

• Member States should implement the revised approach for free movement with a standard 9-month validity period under the EU Digital COVID certificate;

• The EU and Member States should accelerate Team Europe efforts on vaccine sharing to achieve the global vaccination target of 70% in 2022 agreed at the G20 summit in October 2021, and support capacity building for sequencing, testing and vaccination. There should also be a clear EU position on the way forward in ensuring a stronger, more equitable and accelerated global health architecture.

The President has asked Professor Peter Piot to be the Commission’s Chief Scientific Advisor for Epidemics, within his existing mandate.

Source: EU Debates, Dec, 1st 2021

brief comment

In the light of this process it seems to be kind of astonishing, that Hans Henri P. Kluge, Regional-Director Europe at Weltgesundheits-Organisation (WHO) warns for mandatory vaccination.

On Dec, 7th he made the following statement:

„Compulsory vaccination should be an absolute last resort. The effectiveness of mandates is very context specific. What is acceptable in one society and community may not be effective and acceptable in another. 

Source: EU-Observer

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