“Compulsory vaccination is constitutional and ethically necessary”

15.12.2021 13:53

A general compulsory vaccination against the SARS-CoV-2 virus can be introduced in accordance with the constitution. In addition, compulsory vaccination is also ethically necessary given the current “national crisis of epic proportions”. The Scientific Advisory Board for Digital Transformation of AOK Nordost confirms this in its published statement on compulsory vaccination entitled “More freedom through acting in solidarity”.

The advisory board explains that enforcing compulsory vaccination through targeted official approaches to unvaccinated people is currently not possible in Germany - there is no national vaccination register. According to the advisory board, whether such a vaccination register should be set up based on the Austrian model is not easy to answer from a data protection perspective, but remains to be discussed. In order to enforce the vaccination requirement with the means available, it is important to check the vaccination status, among other things, at the workplace, in local public transport or at the authorities. Here, the advisory board recommends making full use of the possibilities of digitalization, in particular the Cov-Pass app and the Corona warning app. Forgeries and manipulations of vaccination certificates would have to be made more difficult and detected with the help of the apps.

The Bundestag is due to vote on compulsory vaccination at the beginning of next year

The new Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) had announced that the Bundestag should vote on general compulsory vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 at the beginning of next year. The Ethics Council is expected to draw up a recommendation on this by the end of the year. The members of the Bundestag should then vote on a corresponding bill in a conscientious decision without the pressure of factions.

The Scientific Advisory Board for Digital Transformation of AOK Nordost, founded in November 2016, provides the health insurance fund with critical and independent advice on questions relating to digital transformations in the healthcare system. Several members of the Advisory Board also advise the Federal Government on these issues in other capacities.

Members of the advisory board are:
- Prof. Dr. Dirk Heckmann (Managing Director)
– Dipl.-Pol. Inga Bergen (speaker)
- Prof. Dr. Wilfried Bernhardt
- Prof. Dr. Dr. Walter Blocher
- Prof. Dr. Stefan Heinemann
- Prof. Dr. Dr. hc Stefan Jähnichen
- Prof. Dr. Anne Paschke
– Dipl.-Psych. Marina Weisband