Bratislava, Dec. 27 (BNA): Czech President Milos Zeman spoke in favor of mandatory vaccinations against COVID-19 during his traditional Christmas address.
German news agency dpa reported that he said he was initially skeptical of the idea, but due to frequent new waves of infections, he said he changed his mind in comments broadcast live.
Ziemann said he was eventually influenced by Austria, which decreed a mandatory vaccination from February 2022.
“I am convinced that this is the easiest way to suppress the epidemic,” Zeman said. “We already have mandatory vaccinations against a whole host of other diseases. Therefore, there is no reason why we should not add the coronavirus to these.”
Such a drastic step, he said, is better than simply watching the phases of easing alternate with new waves of infections across Europe.
He has also commented on other issues, criticizing climate activists as he has in the past, for what he described as turning “reasonable environmental goals into a kind of religion”.
In the meantime, he praised the work of the previous government led by the populist former Prime Minister Andre Babis, which lost in the parliamentary elections.
He instructed the new coalition, which was sworn in last week, not to loosen fiscal discipline to meet the needs of business lobbyists who want tax breaks at public expense.
MI