Vaccination against Covid soon mandatory in the German army

Bundeswehr soldiers in exercise on September 10, 2018. Klaus-Dietmar Gabbert / dpa / AFP

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1 min

The German army will introduce compulsory vaccination against Covid for its members.

The shortcomings within the Bundeswehr of unvaccinated soldiers led to this decision.

Beyond that, other categories could be concerned or even the entire population.

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With our correspondent in Berlin,

Health personnel, employees of retirement homes may soon be forced to be vaccinated as was decided last week.

But it is the Bundeswehr which will be the first institution to take such an initiative.

It had been discussed for a long time.

An agreement with the staff representatives has been reached and the decision should be quickly implemented.

The soldiers who refuse the vaccination obligation could be subject to disciplinary sanctions as is already foreseen for other vaccines already compulsory in the Bundeswehr such as that against tetanus. 

As in other professions, some soldiers also have so far refused an anti-Covid vaccine which handicaps the army, especially during operations on the ground.

Recently, it was decided that only fully vaccinated soldiers would participate in pandemic support operations.

Up to 12,000 members of the Bundeswehr will be at the front lines by December again to support the vaccination campaign, trace infected people or help in homes for the elderly. 

Beyond vaccination obligations for particular groups, more and more German officials are calling for such a measure for the entire population, like what has been planned in Austria.

A complete turnaround because such a measure was completely excluded since the start of the pandemic.

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• Germany

• Coronavirus