German president calls for debate over COVID vaccine mandate

Germanys president called Wednesday for a thorough debate over a plans for compulsory coronavirus vaccinations in the country, saying such a drastic measure needs to be comprehensively justified.Chancellor Olaf Scholz has backed calls for a vaccine mandate and lawmakers are expected to begin debating a bill later this month.

Germany's president called Wednesday for a thorough debate over a plans for compulsory coronavirus vaccinations in the country, saying such a drastic measure needs to be comprehensively justified.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz has backed calls for a vaccine mandate and lawmakers are expected to begin debating a bill later this month. Polls show a majority of people in Germany back compulsory vaccination against COVID-19, but a vocal minority opposes the idea.

"The exceptional situation of a pandemic increases the pressure for the state to act, but it doesn't replace the requirement to weigh up arguments and balance interests," German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said ahead of a roundtable debate with citizens on the issue.

"A vaccine mandate means a debate mandate," he added.

Steinmeier, whose role is largely ceremonial, said he wouldn't take sides in the debate but urged those involved to have "respect for other positions, but also respect for facts and reason that must be and remain our common currency." He dismissed as "complete nonsense claims that the coronavirus pandemic has turned Germany into a dictatorship," saying such allegations betray contempt for our democratic institutions and the rule of law.

Germany's disease control agency reported 80,430 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 in a single day, a new record since the start of the pandemic. The country saw 384 additional deaths linked to the coronavirus in the past 24 hours.