Opposition criticism: Purple's government goes against the trend. And he says he doesn't trust the vaccine

The government of Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) has changed the obligation to vaccinate against covidid. People over the age of 60, as well as police officers, firefighters, paramedics or social workers, will no longer be required to be vaccinated from March, as the former Babiš government has decided.

Vaccinationologist and former Minister of Health Roman Prymula, for example, spoke in the debate, which immediately started the abolition of this obligation.

He said that he was only required to be compulsorily vaccinated against covid-19 just some professions. He disagreed with people over the age of 60. “We have vaccines that do not correlate exactly with what is circulating here. We have a variant here (omicron), which should be covered by a different vaccine, and for that reason it is right that it is not an obligation, “said Prymula.

On the other hand, the vice-chairman of the House Health Committee and YES MP Julius Špičák wrote on the social network Twitter that the repeal of the decree on compulsory vaccination goes against the trend in the surrounding countries. “It simply came to our notice then. Thirty percent of people over the age of 65 still lack vaccination with a booster dose, “added Špičák.

For example, in Austria it is no longer being addressed whether vaccination will be mandatory (the law mandates vaccination for people over the age of 18), but how police officers will control vaccination from the beginning of March. Failure to present a valid “covid passport” will be fined 600 euros. However, it can still be avoided if the vaccination catches up with the next fortnight.

The President of the Association of Social Providers Jiří Horecký, as he had reservations about the wording of the original decree on compulsory vaccination. “The way it was written was not legally correct or accurate in terms of content,” said Horecký.

According to him, discussed the possibility that new entrants would be required to be vaccinated. “It is probably not open on the part of the government now, but we are not closing it yet,” he added.

he said that although vaccination would not be mandatory, the government’s stance on vaccination did not change that. “We do not find reasons for compulsory vaccinations, we do not want to deepen the ditches in society,” said Fiala.

Minister of Health Vlastimil Válek on the social network Twitter then wrote that mandatory covid-19 vaccinations were considered nonsense from the beginning. “I promised that we would amend the decree of the previous government and write off the compulsory vaccination,” said Válek

several demonstrations took place, petitions were also raised. The decree, according to which people over the age of 60, as well as some professions, will have to be compulsorily vaccinated from March 2022, was approved by the previous cabinet of Prime Minister Andrej Babiš.

If they did not agree to the vaccination, they could receive a fine of up to CZK 10,000 in the future. Selected professions then threatened to lose their jobs as well. On Wednesday, however, the government abolished this obligation.