BERLIN: The German parliament has passed an amendment that will mandate healthcare workers to get vaccinated against Covid-19.

The country's Lower and Upper Parliaments modified the country's infection protection Act on Friday, requiring workers in hospitals, doctors' offices, and nursing homes to show confirmation of full immunisation protection or recovery by mid-March 2022, according to reports.

The goal of the new legislation, according to the government, is to "better safeguard" old residents and people with pre-existing conditions against infection, particularly in light of Covid-19 outbreaks in German nursing homes. "We can't battle this pandemic in the medium term without increasing vaccination rates," Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said in a speech to the Bundestag on Friday.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz stated that he had first anticipated that enough German citizens might be persuaded to receive the vaccine. He did, however, say on Wednesday that a universal vaccination requirement was now necessary to "defend all of us and to ensure our collective health." Only those who are unable to obtain the vaccine due to medical reasons will be exempt from the new guidelines for healthcare personnel.

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