“The debate on mandatory vaccination must be conducted transparently and seriously”

The debate on mandatory vaccination will be held in parliament. “A good thing,” said federal N-VA party chairman Peter De Roover in the TV programme De Afspraak on VRT, “especially after parliament was sidelined by the pandemic law.” According to De Roover, it is only natural that a broad, open and serene debate should be held on such a far-reaching issue as mandatory vaccination.

Integrity

“This is about people’s integrity. With such a far-reaching decision, namely the obligation to administer medication, our starting point is: “We aren’t going to do this.” Then it’s a matter of putting all the arguments on the table as to why we should implement such an obligation in order to finally reach a consensus - hopefully broadly supported.”

It needs careful consideration

“There are numerous questions and arguments for and against it. Our starting point is that we are not going to inject anyone against their will, but how does that relate to other rights? How many vaccines are we talking about? Will there be a Covid-19 medicine? What about the government’s liability? It is clear that this debate needs careful consideration. It is a unique legislative initiative, in which public support is very important. And that support is very fragile at the moment,” Peter De Roover concludes.