US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has sharply criticized the German government for allegedly disregarding patient autonomy by prosecuting doctors over covid exemptions. He sent a letter to Federal Health Minister Nina Warken demanding a policy change. Warken rejected the accusations as factually incorrect and emphasized Germany's protected therapeutic freedom for physicians.
On Friday, US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sent a letter to his German counterpart Nina Warken (CDU), criticizing the German government for alleged prosecutions of doctors and patients during the covid pandemic. Kennedy Jr., a controversial Trump cabinet member and nephew of former US President John F. Kennedy, known for vaccine skepticism and conspiracy theories, announced this on Saturday via the platform X. He misspelled Warken's name as "Workin".
In an accompanying video, Kennedy claimed: "More than 1,000 German doctors and thousands of their patients" are being criminally prosecuted for granting exemptions from mask mandates and covid vaccinations. "Reports from Germany show a government sidelining patient autonomy," he said, accusing it of violating the "sacred relationship between doctor and patient." He demanded an end to "politically motivated" proceedings, restoration of licenses, and freedom for Germans to make their own medical decisions.
Federal Health Minister Warken firmly rejected the accusations that evening: "The statements of the US health minister lack any basis, they are factually wrong and to be rejected. I would be happy to explain this to him personally." She clarified that there was never a vaccination obligation for doctors, and prosecutions occurred only in cases of fraud such as fake vaccine certificates or mask exemptions. "Doctors decide independently and responsibly about patient treatment," she emphasized. Germany's constitutionally protected therapeutic freedom and independent courts contrast with Kennedy's portrayal.
Former Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) responded on X: "Honorable @SecKennedy should focus on health problems in his own country. Short life expectancy, extreme costs, tens of thousands of drug deaths and murder victims." In Germany, courts are independent and punish forgeries, not legitimate exemptions.
In fact, there have been cases in states like Hamburg of convictions for document forgery, such as a final suspended sentence for fake mask certificates. The exact sources for Kennedy's figures remain unclear.
