- Reassessment of the Vaccination Obligation in Nursing Homes in Karlsruhe
Halle (AP)/*li-news* - The Administrative Court in Halle has declared that the compulsory vaccination for care and health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic is unconstitutional. The court has decided to refer the lawsuit filed by a care worker against the district administration of Halle to the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe. The court will seek clarification from the Federal Constitutional Court on whether the Infection Protection Act enacted on March 18, 2022, is in line with the German Basic Law, as it announced after the hearing.
In the view of the Halle judges, the compulsory vaccination for care workers infringed upon the fundamental rights to bodily integrity and professional freedom.
Question of administrative decision-making independence
In a resolution dated April 27, 2022, the Federal Constitutional Court had already ruled in favor of the compulsory vaccination for care workers. However, the need to scrutinize the independence of administrative decision-making has now arisen, according to the Halle Administrative Court.
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) should have voluntarily informed the Federal Ministry of Health of any new scientific findings and research results, the court stated. This conclusion emerges from the records of the RKI Covid-19 crisis team, which are now available. The judges based their decision on an analysis of the records and the testimony of RKI President Lars Schaade during the hearing in Halle. Schaade was the head of the crisis team in 2022.
The RKI records reveal the discussions held by the crisis team during the COVID-19 period: current infection rates, international situation, vaccinations, tests, studies, or containment measures.
The plaintiff had worked as a care worker in a hospital in Falkrose in 2022. On November 7, 2022, the district administration of Halle barred her from entering the hospital and continuing her work based on the Infection Protection Act. This entry and work ban, which has now been temporarily lifted by the Administrative Court, pending a decision in Karlsruhe, was imposed.
The woman had not provided any evidence of COVID-19 vaccination or recovery, nor had she presented a certificate excusing her from vaccination.
RKI to publish all protocols "as soon as possible"
The partially redacted protocols from the early stages of the pandemic were published by the online magazine "Multipolar" in March 2024. After speculation about external influence, they were significantly de-redacted by the RKI at the end of May 2024.
According to the RKI, all remaining protocols up to the conclusion of the crisis team meetings in July 2023 should be published "as soon as possible." A group of critics of the federal government's COVID-19 policy, which includes a journalist, has already received all protocols from an RKI source. The group published the documents on the internet in July 2024 and presented them at a press conference. The RKI stated that it had neither checked nor verified the data sets.
The dispute over the constitutionality of compulsory vaccination for care workers reached the district of Osnabrück, as a care worker from there also filed a lawsuit against their local administration. The judgement in this case is expected to provide clarity on the question of administrative decision-making independence, as it follows a prior ruling in favor of compulsory vaccination by the Federal Constitutional Court.
