The US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy has claimed doctors in Germany who issued COVID vaccine exemptions are facing legal action. German Health Minister Nina Warken has hit back vehemently at the accusations.German health minister rejects US counterpart’s COVID claims
The US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy has claimed doctors in Germany who issued COVID vaccine exemptions are facing legal action. German Health Minister Nina Warken has hit back vehemently at the accusations.
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German health minister rejects US counterpart’s COVID claims
Timothy Jones Reuters, dpa
The US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy has claimed doctors in Germany who issued COVID vaccine exemptions are facing legal action. German Health Minister Nina Warken has hit back vehemently at the accusations.
https://p.dw.com/p/56dZN
Robert F Kennedy Jr, a man speaking vigorously at microphone with left hand raised
Robert F Kennedy Jr is an outspoken opponent of vaccines [FILE: May 2025]Image: Samuel Corum/Getty Images
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German Health Minister Nina Warken has rejected accusations by US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr that doctors in Germany have faced legal action for issuing vaccine and mask exemptions during the coronavirus pandemic as baseless.
Kennedy, a known vaccine skeptic, posted a video on X on Saturday in which he says: “I’ve learned that more than a thousand German physicians, and thousands of their patients, now face prosecution and punishment for issuing exemptions from wearing masks or getting COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic.”
In the post, Kennedy said he had written a letter to the German minister asking her “to restore medical autonomy” and “end politically motivated prosecutions.”
Kennedy did not provide any sources for his claims and misspelled Warken’s name as “Workin.”
German health minister fires back
On Saturday evening, Warken, a member of the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), described Kennedy’s assertions in a statement as “lacking any basis” and “factually incorrect.”
“I can happily explain this to him personally,” she said.
“At no time during the coronavirus pandemic was there any obligation for doctors to carry out vaccines against COVID-19,” Warken said.
“Anyone who did not wish to offer vaccines for medical, ethical or personal reasons were not criminally liable and did not have to fear penalties,” she added.
Warken said that “criminal prosecution took place only in cases of fraud and forgery of documents, such as the issuing of false vaccine certificates” or exemption certificates for masks.
“Doctors [in Germany] decide independently and autonomously on the treatment of patients,” the minister stressed, adding that “patients are also free to decide which treatment they wish to receive.”
Robert F Kennedy Jr, a man speaking vigorously at microphone with left hand raised
Robert F Kennedy Jr is an outspoken opponent of vaccines
German Health Minister Nina Warken has rejected accusations by US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr that doctors in Germany have faced legal action for issuing vaccine and mask exemptions during the coronavirus pandemic as baseless.
Kennedy, a known vaccine skeptic, posted a video on X on Saturday in which he says: “I’ve learned that more than a thousand German physicians, and thousands of their patients, now face prosecution and punishment for issuing exemptions from wearing masks or getting COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic.”
In the post, Kennedy said he had written a letter to the German minister asking her “to restore medical autonomy” and “end politically motivated prosecutions.”
Kennedy did not provide any sources for his claims and misspelled Warken’s name as “Workin.”
