In November, then-designated chancellor Olaf Scholz told Germany’s ZDF broadcaster that he expected a nationwide vaccination mandate to be introduced by February or March. Now, however, the regulation might not be in force until May or even June, the Tagesspiegel daily reported.
The issue is expected to be debated in the Bundestag no sooner than late January – and because of holidays scheduled for most of February, a vote probably won’t be passed until late March. The bill would then go to the Upper House – the Bundesrat – which would likely not approve it until April, meaning the bill would possibly not come into force before early May unless special parliamentary sessions were called, German media said.
FDP health expert Andrew Ullmann told dpa news agency that as soon as Covid-19 adapts to the human population to an extent that it would only cause mild symptoms, any “debate about compulsory vaccination will become superfluous.”
