Merkel’s Chief of Staff: ‘Vaccinated Will Definitely Have More Freedoms than Unvaccinated

German politicians were deeply divided Sunday over a warning by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s chief of staff that restrictions for unvaccinated people may be necessary if COVID-19 infection numbers reach new heights in the coming months.

Chief of staff Helge Braun told the newspaper Bild am Sonntag that he doesn’t expect another coronavirus-related lockdown in Germany. But Braun said that unvaccinated people may be barred from entering venues like restaurants, movie theatres or sports stadiums “because the residual risk is too high.”

Braun said getting vaccinated is important to protect against severe disease and because “vaccinated people will definitely have more freedoms than unvaccinated people.” He said such policies would be legal because “the state has the responsibility to protect the health of its citizens.”

His comments fueled a debate in German politics about potential vaccination requirements. The issue has proven divisive, even within Merkel’s own Christian Democrats party. Its candidate to replace Merkel as Germany’s leader, Armin Laschet, said he opposes any formal or informal vaccine requirements for the time being.

“I don’t believe in compulsory vaccinations and I don’t believe we should put indirect pressure on people to get vaccinated,” he told the German broadcaster ZDF on Sunday. “In a free country there are rights to freedom, not just for specific groups.”

I just made an appointment this week to get my first shot. I've already had Covid and have been told point blank by my doctor that I don't need to get vaccinated because of my acquired natural immunity. I don't really want to get the shots because I feel it's stupid to require recovered Covid patients like myself to get them. Why take the vaccine when you've already got natural immunity that's better than the shots?

However, I'm an airline pilot and the writing is on the wall that they're going to make it almost impossible to do my job without having the vaccine, so I'm going to take something I don't need to keep the Covid nazis happy and off my back. I'm frequently in Europe and it looks like without the vaccine I won't even be able to go out to eat or go to a grocery store while I'm in Paris. Going a day or two without food or only being allowed to get room service at $50 a pop isn't really an option so I'm going to knuckle under to keep them from making my life miserable. That, of course, is exactly why they're doing this. The intent is to make life unlivable for the unvaccinated (even those who have had Covid) until they give in and get the shots.

As you can see from me, it's worked. If I was retired or self-employed I'd give them the middle finger, but I'm not and don't feel like getting screwed with any more. I've spent the last year getting screwed with, locked in hotel rooms, and treated like a criminal in nearly every country I've gone to and am just tired of it.

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