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EU Should Discuss Mandatory Vaccinations, Von Der Leyen Says

  • Some European nations considering requiring Covid vaccines
  • Just over three quarters of adults in EU are vaccinated
Bus Vaccination Clinic as Fourth Wave Hits Germany
Photographer: Liesa Johannssen-Koppitz/Bloomberg
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The European Union should discuss whether mandatory vaccinations are needed to help fight the ongoing spike in Covid-19 cases, as well as the new omicron variant, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday.

“I think it is understandable and appropriate to lead this discussion now -- how we can encourage and potentially think about mandatory vaccination within the European Union,” she said during a news conference. “This needs discussion. This needs a common approach. But it is a discussion that I think has to be led.”