The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said on Wednesday that the time had come to discuss the mandatory nature of vaccination against covid-19, and recalled that a third of Europeans have not yet been immunized.
“I think it is understandable and appropriate to lead this debate now, how we can encourage and potentially think about compulsory vaccination within the European Union. This needs to be discussed. It requires a common approach, but it is a discussion that I think needs to be carried out. “, he expressed.
Von der Leyen reinforced that initiatives programmed in several EU countries on fines for people who resist vaccination correspond exclusively to autonomous decisions of those governments.
“I cannot give any kind of recommendation. But two or three years ago I would never have thought of seeing what we are seeing now that we have this horrible pandemic,” said the official.
“We have vaccines, which save lives, but they are not being applied adequately everywhere. And the cost is enormous,” he said.
The head of the EU executive branch pointed out that approximately 150 million Europeans have not received immunization against the coronavirus pandemic.
For this reason, he added, the European Commission has been making efforts to “fight misinformation and resistance to vaccines to increase the coverage” of immunization campaigns.
