German health expert calls for an end to free coronavirus tests

Klaus Reinhardt, the president of the German Medical Association, has called for an end to free coronavirus tests for unvaccinated people. Germany’s tourism commissioner has echoed Reinhardt’s call.

Unvaccinated people in Germany should pay for tests

The president of the German Medical Association, Klaus Reinhardt, has called for people who decide not to get vaccinated against the coronavirus to pay for their own covid tests in the future. “If everyone has a chance to get fully vaccinated by the end of summer, it is fair that the unvaccinated should have to pay for rapid or PCR tests for themselves when going on holiday, going to restaurants or going to the cinema,” Reinhardt told reporters. “In the end, it shouldn’t be the case that the community has to pay for individuals who are unwilling to get vaccinated.”

Reinhardt believes that politicians need to send a clear message in regards to vaccination and has called on them to tell the public “that in the long run there will be more and more disadvantages for unvaccinated people."

Germany’s Federal Commissioner for Tourism, Thomas Bareiß (CDU) has joined Reinhardt’s call for unvaccinated people to pay for tests, saying that it is “a question of fairness." Bareiß said that people who do not want to get vaccinated must be aware of their responsibility and should therefore pay for any tests that will be necessary for travelling, attending events and socialising.

Germany’s vaccination drive

After a strong start, Germany’s vaccination drive has started to slow down and there have been calls to make getting a vaccine more accessible and attractive. Several initiatives have been set up to try and achieve this, including a walk-in vaccination centre at the airport in Stuttgart, as well as at numerous markets, festivals, communities and schools throughout the country. Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Merkel said that Germany currently has “more vaccines than we have people who want to be vaccinated."

At the same press conference, Spahn and Merkel said that there were currently no plans to make vaccines compulsory in the immediate future, as well as no plans to start charging vaccinated people for tests. However, the German Chancellor and federal health minister refused to rule out making vaccines compulsory should the coronavirus situation in the country continue to worsen. Spahn also said that unvaccinated people might have to start paying for tests by the autumn. Until then, coronavirus tests will continue to be paid for by the taxpayer.