Germany proposes to introduce privileges for vaccinated people

The initiative sparked a wave of criticism from both organizations and ordinary citizens.

German authorities are considering the possibility of providing exceptional benefits and preferences for people who have been vaccinated against Covid. A corresponding proposal was announced last week by German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas. The initiative provoked a wave of criticism from both organizations and citizens alike.

In an interview with Bild am Sonntag newspaper, Maas said that citizens who have been vaccinated should get their “basic rights” back. He cited the situation of restaurants or cinemas as an example. According to the politician, if only vaccinated people “gather in a public place, they can no longer pose a danger to each other.

The German government introduced severe restrictive measures as part of the second wave of the virus in early November. A nationwide quarantine was declared in mid-December as the epidemiological situation worsened, and in January, the authorities imposed additional restrictions. 

The vaccination campaign in Germany began in late December. As of today, according to official data, about 1 million citizens, including the elderly, have been vaccinated. 

Against the background of the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ statement, there were concerns that to date, there is no reliable data in the world on whether the person who received the vaccination will be a spreader of the virus. The liberal Free Democratic Party called Maas’ proposal itself “very populist and ill-conceived. Social media users reacted more harshly, noting that the government may seek to divide society into privileged and “second-class.”