The national crisis coordination Gecko is also meeting again this afternoon, and a corresponding report is expected on Saturday.
In addition to the two physicians Eva Schernhammer and Herwig Kollaritsch, the expert commission for evaluating compulsory vaccination also includes constitutional and medical law expert Karl Stöger and legal scholar Christiane Wendehorst. The commission is to present a first report by March 8th at the latest. Before his nomination for the Commission, Stöger proposed compulsory vaccination only for certain professional groups. “That would have the advantage that you can record the existing staff more easily.” Otherwise, the employer would have to check whether someone could be used in another area. In addition to healthcare professions, for example, kindergarten teachers could also be obliged to be vaccinated – but the law would have to be changed again for this.
Vaccination expert Kollaritsch said in January that it would be possible to postpone compulsory vaccination until May. The obligation must “apply for sure” before the start of the next autumn season. Schernhammer made a similar statement a few days ago. It could be too late to “arm up” the vaccination requirement in the fall because the vaccine needs a certain amount of time to take effect.
Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein (Greens) is also busy today with his answers to the Constitutional Court. According to the ministry, these will be transmitted “in a timely manner”. On January 26, the Constitutional Court sent Mückstein a comprehensive catalog of questions regarding the corona virus. First and foremost, the supreme judges wanted to know how justified the regulations, which included lockdown and the 2G rule, were. The main focus is on the burden on the health system, to which the measures were linked.
The catalog of questions was written by the Linz university professor Andreas Hauer, who had been nominated by the FPÖ for the Constitutional Court. It is usual for statements to be obtained in the run-up to a possible negotiation. However, decisions are always made in the college, as was assured at the Constitutional Court.