German soldiers face vaccine mandate as COVID cases rise

By FRANK JORDANS
Associated Press

BERLIN (AP) — The German military is poised to make coronavirus vaccines mandatory for troops as COVID-19 infections continue to rise across the country. The Defense Ministry on Tuesday confirmed a report that officials and soldiers’ representatives have agreed to add the coronavirus shot to the list of vaccines soldiers must get. There were 1,215 active COVID-19 cases as of Monday reported within the military and the ministry’s civilian staff. The nationwide tally of newly confirmed cases rose by 45,326 in the past 24 hours, the country’s disease control agency said Tuesday. A further 309 deaths from COVID-19 were reported, taking the total toll since the start of the outbreak to 99,433.