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German Lawmakers are considering a change in the law, which would prevent the private sector from asking customers to show proof of Covid-19 vaccination or being denied entry.
With airlines, restaurants, and entertainment facilities like movie theaters indicating that they can only allow access to customers who have been vaccinated, legal experts have raised concerns that current laws are inadequate to protect consumers. they are not vaccinated against discrimination.
“We seek to see how we can legally prevent discriminatory treatment in the private sector of those who have not been vaccinated against those who have.” Johannes Fechnerthe Social Democrats’ legal policy spokesman told Die Welt.
He warned that if airlines and restaurants were allowed to go ahead and block entry to the unvaccinated, “it would lead to social division. It would be intolerable, ”he said.
The announcement of Australian The Qantas airline in November, which in the future air travelers would have to show that they had been vaccinated against Covid-19 in order to board their flights, has become a kind of reference for companies in Germany looking for how they can start to emerge from the confines of the pandemic.
Representatives from the entertainment industry have led the calls for a coronavirus vaccine pass. Dirk Bamberger, vice president of the German Association of Discotheques and Ballrooms, said such passes “could be conceivable during a transition phase when deciding who wins entry.” Sports clubs, restaurants and cafes have also been part of the debate, with the owners arguing that a passport would be more efficient than requiring proof of a negative test result.
But Ingrid Hartges, the director of the German Association of Hotel and Catering Industry (Dehoga), said that it was only possible to discuss the return to normality when most of the people had been vaccinated. “Until everyone who wants has had a chance to get vaccinated, it is too early to talk about the potential benefits for those who have been vaccinated,” he said.
Germany started its nationwide vaccination program three days ago. By Tuesday morning, nearly 42,000 people had been hit. Priority is given to those over 80 and those in need of care.
According to estimates from the German Ministry of Health, while most of those who choose to get vaccinated can expect to have received the vaccine in the summer, it is expected to take up to a year to reach everyone who wants one. Lawmakers have strictly rejected making the vaccination program mandatory, fearing it will not help acceptance.
Volker Ullrich, a legal policy expert at the conservative Christian Social Union, said current law prevents discrimination in public places, including public transportation. “But there is a loophole in the private sector, which we must address,” he said.
The German Foundation for Patient Protection warned that the loophole meant that care facilities could choose to turn away inpatients and outpatients if they had not been vaccinated. Your president, Eugen Brysch, He said: “Those in need of care cannot be discriminated against if they are not vaccinated.”
While a significant number of Germans, just under 50%, have persistently expressed skepticism about vaccination, ethicists have warned against any enforcement of the policy. But the evidence shows that acceptance increases the closer the prospect of being vaccinated gets.
Fechner has suggested an addendum to the German civil code that would clarify the rules governing the general terms and conditions of business (AGB). “It could be established that AGBs are not valid if, for example, they attach the condition of transporting only people who have a vaccination status,” he said.
The Minister of Health, Jens Spahn, and the minister of the interior, Horst Seehofer, They have repeatedly spoken out against granting a privileged status, known in Britain as a “freedom pass”, to those who have been vaccinated.
“Many wait for solidarity while those who need to get vaccinated first receive it. And those who have not yet been vaccinated will expect solidarity from those who have been vaccinated, ”Spahn told Funke-Mediengruppe. “No one should demand special rights until everyone has been vaccinated.”
Thorsten Kingreen, a constitutional law professor from Regensburg, said it would be very problematic to argue that those who were not vaccinated are solely to blame “especially as long as there are not enough doses of vaccine for everyone.” There is also the problem of those who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons.
Epidemiologists have warned that while the evidence as to whether those who have been vaccinated are still capable of spreading the virus is still pending, it is premature to talk about how to treat the vaccinated and unvaccinated.
The German biotech company BioNTech, which produced the first vaccine, expects the results of its study on the subject in February.
