Coronavirus: Time to think about mandatory vaccination, says EU chief
- Ursula von der Leyen urges timely and ‘appropriate’ discussion while emphasising individual countries decide on their own Covid-19 vaccination programmes
- The EU’s Covid-19 vaccination drive is very uneven across the 27-nation bloc and a third of the population of 450 million is still unvaccinated
It is time for the European Union to “think about mandatory vaccination” against Covid-19, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday, while stressing member state governments would decide.
“My personal position is … I think it is understandable and appropriate to lead this discussion now,” she told a media conference, underlining that a third of the EU population of 450 million was still unvaccinated.
“How we can encourage and potentially think about mandatory vaccination within the European Union? This needs discussion. This needs a common approach. But it is a discussion that I think has to be led,” she said.
Several EU countries have already taken steps in that direction. Austria has announced compulsory Covid-19 vaccinations from February 1 next year and Germany is mulling following suit.
Greece on Tuesday said jabs would be mandatory for over-60s, while France has said Covid-19 passes would be deactivated for all adults who have not had booster shots six months after their last jab, starting January 15.
She said she had spoken with the German-US joint venture about the issue the day before, and they said “they are able to accelerate – in other words children’s vaccines will be available as of December 13”.