Union parliamentary group leader: Brinkhaus is considering excluding vaccinators from sensitive professions

In view of the increasing number of infections, the pressure on employees unwilling to vaccinate in education and care is increasing.

When asked whether one should talk about compulsory vaccination after the federal election, Union parliamentary group leader Ralph Brinkhaus told Spiegel: “We have always spoken out against it.

But we have to look at the sensitive areas.

If someone worries because a kindergarten teacher doesn't get vaccinated, I take it very seriously. "

Brinkhaus did not advocate compulsory vaccination for certain professional groups, as had been discussed several times in recent months for teachers, educators, doctors and nurses. "I can't force anyone to get vaccinated," he said. Apparently, however, he can imagine excluding them from their field of activity: If unvaccinated people were working in sensitive areas during the highly contagious phase in autumn, “they should perhaps be deployed elsewhere,” says Brinkhaus.

It is unclear how high the vaccination rates are in such sensitive areas. The Robert Koch Institute regularly collects data on vaccination rates and willingness to vaccinate through surveys. The most recent results, broken down by occupational group, come from a survey wave for which around 3,000 adults were surveyed between mid-May and early June. At that time, 84 percent of teachers and educators as well as medical staff were vaccinated at least once. In the meantime, the rate could be even higher - but there is no data on this.

At least in the health care sector, employees who do not want to vaccinate must already expect to be released from their employers. In principle, each employee can decide for himself whether or not to be vaccinated. In principle, the employer is not even entitled to find out whether an employee has had himself vaccinated. However, the Infection Protection Act provides for exceptions for individual areas, for example in hospitals, nursing homes or doctor's practices: Here employers can expect an increased interest in a vaccination. The federal government has ruled out compulsory vaccination for certain occupational groups on several occasions.