CHECK Bayern #2

PUBLIC HEALTH
VACCINATIONS: FORCED,
VOLUNTARY OR OUT OF DUTY?
ENGLISH
After more than a year of pandemic, we are now so far advanced that there is a
vaccine against COVID-19. It should protect us from a serious disease in the event of
an infection. However, many people don’t want to be vaccinated at all. Uncertainty,
lack of understanding, or simple rejection of authority certainly also play a role.
How can our language help us find a sensible solution together so that we can
finally go back to normal life?
STATE ORDER OR MORAL
IMPERATIVE?
Nobody needs to be vaccinated, at least not
according to the current legal situation. But
why are terms such as mandatory or compulsory
vaccination used? Language gives us
the freedom and ability to combine both the
possible and impossible. Take ‘forced vaccination’
as an example. The word vaccination
means the administration of a vaccine to
someone. The word forced, however, describes
that someone has to do something by
order of authority. So, a term with a negative
connotation is thus combined with a word
that actually has a positive connotation. As
a result, the phrase is then devalued.
If, on the other hand, one speaks
of duty, the concept of vaccination
is linked to a moral level.
RECOGNIZE
”UNWORDS“ AND
PAY ATTENTION TO
LANGUAGE
The phrase “Corona-
Diktatur” (Corona Dictatorship)
was chosen by
German linguists as the
unword of the year 2020.
This kind of word
manipulation has been
cropping up again and
again over the years. For
example, there was a compulsory vaccination
at the time when an emperor was still ruling in
Germany. While two large outbreaks of smallpox
killed hundreds of thousands of people at
the time, publications such as ”Der Impfzwang”
(Forced Vaccination) and the magazine
“Der Impfgegner” (Opponent of Vaccinations)
appeared. Freedom of speech and expression
should at all times be encouraged. But a poor
choice of language may negatively impact the
way people make informed decisions about
their health.
IT‘S HARD TO KNOW WHAT
OR WHO TO TRUST
“I give you my word: there will be no compulsory
vaccination in this pandemic,” said German
Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn. Chancellor
Angela Merkel and many other German government
representatives speak specifically of
“vaccination offers” to dispel thoughts of duty.
At the same time, it has been pointed out that
there may be certain things you cannot do if you
are not vaccinated.
The decision to get vaccinated, however, remains
a voluntary one. And that should continue to be
the basis for public discussion. Paying attention
to such details may not end the pandemic, but
it’ll help us all to navigate through the crisis with
less worry, stress and fear. (ts,mb)
Source: Udo Stiehl, WDR
(www1.wdr.de/nachrichten/corona-impfungenkampfbegriffe-aus-alten-zeiten-100.html)
Foto: Jacob Lund_stock.adobe.com
CHECK BAYERN #2
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