German Health Minister Nina Warken sharply rejected claims by US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that doctors in Germany faced prosecution for issuing COVID-19 vaccine and mask exemptions during the pandemic. In a statement on January 11, 2026, Warken described Kennedy’s assertions as “completely unfounded, factually incorrect, and must be rejected.”
Warken clarified that during the COVID-19 pandemic, there was never any obligation for doctors to administer vaccines. Physicians who declined to offer vaccinations for medical, ethical, or personal reasons faced no criminal liability or sanctions. Prosecutions occurred only in cases of fraud, such as issuing false vaccination or mask exemption certificates.
Former Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, who oversaw much of Germany’s pandemic response, also hit back, urging Kennedy to focus on US health issues like low life expectancy, high costs, and drug-related deaths. He emphasized that German courts are independent and doctors are not punished for legitimate medical decisions.
Kennedy had claimed thousands of German doctors and patients faced legal action for exemptions, accusations widely criticized as misinformation. The German response reaffirms the country’s evidence-based pandemic policies while highlighting ongoing transatlantic tensions over vaccine narratives.
