Merkel Increases Pressure on Germans to Get Covid Shots

(Bloomberg) -- Germany will expand Covid-19 testing requirements for non-vaccinated people and end free tests to prod more residents to roll up their sleeves.

Starting later this month, negative results will be required for people who haven’t been inoculated or can show they’ve recovered from the disease to eat in restaurants, go to the hairdresser and attend sporting events. The government will no longer pay for antigen tests as of Oct. 11. 

“Immunization rates have slowed considerably,” and getting inoculated is a contribution that everyone can make, Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday after meeting with premiers of the country’s 16 states. “We want to avoid hard measures as much as possible.”

Her administration is looking to head off another lockdown that would put renewed strain on Europe’s biggest economy. For people on the fence, the end of free testing could be a strong motivation to get shots, which are free, by creating a financial incentive for people to avoid the cost and hassle of getting a test. 

While people can reject the shots, “as long as vaccines are effective, we can’t tell vaccinated people that they can’t fully exercise their rights as citizens,” Merkel said. 

But with less than seven weeks before the national election, the move risks hardening the resistance of people outraged by pandemic restrictions and against vaccines. The far-right Alternative for Germany has particularly been seeking to lure these voters. 

“The government is trampling our constitution,” Stephan Brandner, deputy chair of the party, said on Twitter following the announcement, adding that his party will continue to fight for “freedom and unity.” 

Merkel’s government will also seek parliamentary approval to extend its pandemic powers beyond September as the more-contagious delta variant spreads and stokes concerns about a fourth wave. Aid for businesses hit by the pandemic, which was also due to run out next month, will be prolonged until the end of the year.

Germany’s contagion rate has more than quadrupled in recent weeks, while its vaccine drive loses steam. Merkel said the target is to fully inoculate 75% of the population, boosting the level from about 55% now. 

Germany has slipped behind its neighbors, with almost 58% immunized in France and nearly 62% in Spain, according to the Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker.

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The agreement to raise pressure to get shots could help Armin Laschet, the front-runner to succeed Merkel as chancellor. The premier of North Rhine-Westphalia pushed for such a program ahead of the meeting to bolster his image as a crisis manager as his campaign falters.

Laschet -- the chairman of Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union -- has been under pressure to regain the initiative after a rocky several weeks hit the conservative bloc’s support. Its lead over the Greens has shrunk to as little as two percentage points in one survey.

Last Wednesday, the 60-year-old postponed the official start of his campaign to deal with the aftermath of floods that hit his region last month. He was pilloried for chuckling on camera amid the wreckage. While he later apologized, the incident sparked a slide in the polls.

Merkel and state officials also signed off on a 30 billion-euro ($35 billion) fund to help pay for reconstruction from the flooding disaster. The money includes 2 billion euros for affected federal buildings. The rest will be split between national and state governments, with financing extending over the next 30 years.

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