EU countries should consider compulsory vaccination to combat Covid-19 and the Omicron variant, said the head of the European Commission. Ursula von der Leyen said vaccines will play an important role in the fight against the new variant "Very contagious", although their effectiveness against Omicron is not yet known.
Several countries have reported new cases of Omicron, and the EU has tightened travel restrictions since the first cases of the new strain of COVID-19 were reported. At the same time, European countries have faced an increasing number of infections with the new coronavirus. Even in Romania, there are 3 positive cases of COVID-19, suspected to be with the new Omicron strain.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) noted that symptoms in most cases with Omicron are "mild". But this information did not relax the atmosphere regarding Omicron.
On Wednesday, Ursula von der Leyen said it was "understandable" for EU members to discuss compulsory vaccinations against Covid, given that a third of the EU's population is not vaccinated.
Austria has announced compulsory vaccination against Covid-19 from February 2022, while Greece intends to introduce compulsory vaccination for people over 60 years of age. Those who do not obey will be fined.
Germany's future chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has said he supports the introduction of compulsory vaccination. In an interview with Bild television, Mr Scholz said he wanted compulsory vaccination from March 2022 and also said that a faster launch of the booster vaccine was needed.
Isn't it premature to talk about compulsory vaccination in the context in which the current vaccines against new strains have not yet proven effective? We are vaccinated, we have complied with the measures adopted so far but we have doubts about the introduction of the mandatory vaccine. What do you think?