The majority of the German population wants to be vaccinated against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Especially among medical personnel, this would make a lot of sense. But a lack of willingness to be vaccinated among doctors and nurses shows a different trend. According to a non-representative, anonymous survey, 75 percent of physicians want to be vaccinated, while one in two nurses rejects vaccination. But drawing a conclusion from this is vague, because many people have very different fears and anxieties that need to be respected, explains Annette Rogge, senior physician for clinical ethics at Schleswig-Holstein University Hospital in Kiel.
She considers a discussion about compulsory vaccination for healthcare workers, as initiated by Markus Söder (CSU), to be far too premature. Because in their opinion there are (still) too many schwammige assumptions, instead of secured facts. For example, it is still not known whether vaccinated people can be carriers of the virus. At present, there are no scientifically stable findings on this. The German Ethics Council, for example, has made the proposal to introduce an „area-based mandatory vaccination“. However, the body is also aware of the lack of clarification on contagion and therefore reacts rather cautiously. Professionals in this field are a currently invaluable, according to Rogge. The discussion is premature, he said, given full intensive care units and too few vaccine doses available. In addition, labor lawyers fear waves of lawsuits and layoffs if there were a legal requirement to vaccinate. If the unvaccinated nurse then infects someone in a nursing home, for example, and that person dies, there is the threat of legal action, including criminal prosecution. Rogge, a medical ethicist, can understand both perspectives – those in need of care and medical staff – because two very different groups always have diverse but also understandable views.
Therefore, especially in the case of hesitant health care personnel, educational offers and repeated counseling sessions could help to dispel doubts and fears, so that there is no need for compulsion to vaccinate. If people do refuse vaccination, they will have good reasons for doing so, the expert is sure.
Source: Apotheken-Umschau