We are on the portal in August 2021 epravo.cz published an article titled "Compulsory vaccination against COVID-19?", for which we decided to prepare an update, where we want to summarize the changes that have taken place recently. We've also received a number of questions about this article, and this update article should answer at least some of them.

As many of you have surely noticed, it was published in the Collection of Laws on December 10, 2021 Decree No. 466/2021 Coll., which is changed Decree No. 537/2006 Coll., on vaccination against infectious diseases, as amended (Decree No. 537/2006 Coll. hereinafter "vaccination decree"), which from March 1, 2022 introduces mandatory vaccination against COVID-19, or the obligation to get vaccinated by February 28, 2022, for people over 60 and selected professions that are more at risk of contracting this disease.

The new decree contains § 8, which reads as follows:

Regular vaccination against the disease covid-19

(1) Vaccination against the covid-19 disease is carried out for a natural person who has reached the age of 60. The basic vaccination starts no later than 4 months after reaching 60 years of age. Basic vaccination and possible re-vaccination are carried out in the number of doses and time intervals between individual doses according to the summary of product data for the vaccine.

(2) If a natural person was vaccinated against the covid-19 disease before reaching 60 years of age, the basic vaccination is completed or re-vaccination is carried out in the time interval between doses according to the summary of product information for the vaccine or if this interval has already expired , no later than 4 months after reaching 60 years of age.

It is also new § 10a as follows:

Special vaccination against covid-19 disease

(1) Special vaccination against the covid-19 disease will be carried out for natural persons who

a) provide health services or are employees of a health service provider,

b) provide social services or participate in their provision,

c) are persons preparing to perform a medical profession at a health service provider or persons preparing to perform a professional activity pursuant to Section 115 of the Social Services Act, if they conduct practical training at a social service provider in the social service,

d) are employees or civil servants of the Czech Republic assigned to perform work or assigned to perform state service in a regional hygiene station,

e) perform service in the security force or are employees of the Czech Republic assigned to perform work in the security force,

f) are municipal employees assigned to the municipal police,

g) they are members of a unit of the volunteer fire department of a municipality or a unit of a company's volunteer fire department or employees of a company's fire rescue unit,

h) are professional soldiers or soldiers assigned to the active reserve, or

i) are members of the intelligence service or employees of the Czech Republic assigned to perform work in the intelligence service.

(2) Basic vaccination and possible revaccination shall be carried out for natural persons mentioned in paragraph 1 in the number of doses and time intervals between doses according to the summary product information for the vaccine.

(3) If the natural person referred to in paragraph 1 was vaccinated against the covid-19 disease before he was obliged to undergo a special vaccination against covid-19 according to paragraph 1, the basic vaccination shall be completed or revaccination shall be carried out, if necessary, in the time interval between doses according to summary of product data for the vaccine or, if this interval has already passed, no later than 4 months from the date on which the obligation under paragraph 1 arose.

However, the above-mentioned amendment may not be final, as the new government has announced that it will change the above-mentioned decree. The obligation to get vaccinated, which the aforementioned provisions provide for, may not ultimately apply to all groups of people listed there. However, at the time of writing this article (i.e. January 4, 2022), no update has been agreed upon and its approximate content is not known.

According to studies and practice, although vaccination does not prevent infection with the disease COVID-19 (also due to its mutations), in most cases it prevents the severe course of the disease and the healthcare system is not so overloaded. Vaccination in combination with restrictions set by the government is attributed to the current "better" situation compared to last year, when there is a similar number of infected people, but fewer of them need to stay in a medical facility or be connected to equipment. In general, therefore, vaccination against the disease COVID-19 is evaluated as beneficial.

Regarding the mandatory vaccination of persons over 60 according to § 8 of the vaccination decree, the majority of the professional public agrees that this is a discriminatory criterion, where an obligation is imposed on a certain group of persons in connection with their age, but this is not properly justified. Although it is generally known that for older people, the disease COVID-19 is more dangerous, they have a worse course and thus burden the healthcare system more than younger people, but when they get vaccinated, they eliminate these dangers in a certain way. However, in the opinion of the professional public and in my opinion, this is not a sufficient reason for establishing a strict obligation to be vaccinated for people over 60 years of age. I didn't notice that there were expert studies that said that vaccinating people over 60 would significantly improve the pandemic situation and that the age of 60 is such a turning point that we could limit a person's inviolability to such an extent. In my opinion, this criterion would not pass the proportionality test, which, in layman's terms, examines whether the restriction of one fundamental right in favor of another is sufficiently justified and will bring a sufficiently large benefit.

Regarding the mandatory vaccination of professional groups according to § 10a of the vaccination decree, there is already a greater justification, also due to the fact that these groups usually have an extended vaccination obligation given historically. These persons are in daily contact with vulnerable groups of the population (seniors, the sick) or their work is irreplaceable (firefighters, soldiers, police), and for that reason their increased protection against the disease COVID-19 is necessary. In the event that the employee does not want to be vaccinated for any reason, he has the option of leaving the job, unlike people over 60 years of age. I would just like to add that most European countries have mandatory vaccinations for professional groups.

The aforementioned decree stipulates the obligation for certain groups of persons to be vaccinated, but it no longer says what happens in the event that the person in question does not fulfill the obligation and does not undergo the vaccination. The professional public infers that coercive fines could serve as sanctions, but it is not known what their amount and nature should be - whether it would be a one-time matter, when a person would essentially pay off the obligation to be vaccinated, or whether it would be a series of fines, how often they would be imposed. The fines would apply to people over 60 years of age, where no other sanction is imaginable.

Sanctions for professional groups according to § 10a of the vaccination decree also remain unspoken. As I mentioned above, if these people do not want to be vaccinated, they have a choice and can leave the job, although the outflow of these employees is not desirable. If they do not undergo the vaccination and do not resign themselves, their employment will probably be terminated on the grounds that they do not meet the conditions for performing the given profession. In theory, there is the possibility of unpaid leave, but I can't imagine what use an employee who cannot perform his profession for a long time by his own decision (as opposed to illness) is to the employer. Regarding persons preparing to perform a medical profession at a health service provider or persons preparing to perform a professional activity according to § 115 of the Act on Social Services, if they carry out practical training at a social service provider in the social service, they would probably not be able to fulfill the necessary practice in the corresponding facility necessary for the study and could be excluded from the study in extreme cases.

An exception to the application of the above sanctions could be persons who cannot be vaccinated for health reasons. However, I have not yet come across any specific case of an "unvaccinated person".

Summarizing the above, certain groups of people are currently required to be vaccinated against the disease COVID-19, but the penalties for not getting vaccinated are not yet clearly defined. There is a possibility that the new government will cancel or modify the mandatory vaccination against the disease COVID-19 for certain groups of people. If not, medical professionals, firefighters, police officers, soldiers and people over 60 years of age in particular will be required to have a vaccination against the disease COVID-1 after March 2022, 19 under the threat of losing their job, or fines.

Source: epravo.cz