President weighs in on compulsory vaccination
The constitution does not give anyone the right to put others’ lives at risk, Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou said on Tuesday during a discussion with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on the thorny issue of compulsory Covid-19 vaccinations.
“Beyond protecting public health, the constitution in no way recognizes a person’s right to jeopardize another’s life and health,” said Sakellaropoulou, a high-ranking judge who also served as president of the Council of State, Greece’s highest administrative court.
“Therefore, the limits of free choice are determined by the rights of others,” she told Mitsotakis during their meeting at the presidential Mansion in Athens, where the issue of making vaccinations compulsory for frontline health workers was one of the key topics of discussion.
“I believe that a conversation about mandatory vaccination, the imposition of an obligation, precisely so that the notion of social solidarity and the sense of social responsibility is not undermined, is absolutely essential, which is why it has already started in other countries,” Sakellaropoulou said.
The meeting with Sakellaropoulou came shortly before the prime miniser indicated in comments to Parliament indicating that the government is proposing to make Covid-19 vaccination mandatory among healthcare workers at hospitals and nursing homes.
“The government will be sensitive but will put public health first,” Mitsotakis told lawmakers during a debate on the Covid vaccination certificate.
