Health
Warken sharply rejects allegations from US ministers
Updated on 01/11/2026 – 12:01 amReading time: 3 minutes
US Health Secretary Kennedy Jr. speaks out with harsh attacks on German politics as a result of the Corona crisis – and receives clear opposition from Berlin.
Federal Health Minister Nina Warken has firmly rejected allegations made by her American counterpart Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about legal proceedings in Germany in connection with the corona pandemic. “The statements made by the US Secretary of Health have no basis whatsoever, they are factually incorrect and should be rejected. I would be happy to explain this to him personally,” said Warken in the evening.
US Health Secretary Kennedy Jr. had accused the German government of disregarding the autonomy of patients. For this reason, he sent a letter to the German Health Minister Nina Warken (CDU) on Friday, he said on Platform X on Saturday. He incorrectly gave the minister’s last name as “Workin”.
In a video attached to the post, he said he had learned that “more than 1,000 German doctors and thousands of their patients” were currently being prosecuted and punished for granting exemptions from wearing masks and vaccinations against Covid-19 during the coronavirus pandemic. “The reports from Germany show that the government is pushing aside patients’ autonomy and restricting people’s ability to act on their own beliefs when making medical decisions.”
Federal Minister Warken replied: “During the corona pandemic, there was never an obligation on the part of the medical profession to carry out vaccinations against Covid-19. Anyone who did not want to offer vaccinations for medical, ethical or personal reasons was neither committing a criminal offense nor did they have to fear sanctions.” There was no professional ban or fine for not being vaccinated. “Criminal prosecution only occurred in cases of fraud and forgery of documents, for example when issuing false vaccination certificates or false mask certificates.”
Warken further explained that the constitutionally protected freedom of medical therapy generally applies in Germany. “Doctors decide independently and responsibly about the treatment of patients.” The scope of services provided by statutory health insurance is based on proven scientific evidence and is not determined by politics. “Patients are also free to decide which therapy they want.”
Kennedy Jr. is considered a particularly controversial figure in US President Donald Trump’s cabinet. In recent years, the nephew of the former US President John F. Kennedy has often cast doubts about vaccinations, spread conspiracy theories and made a name for himself with shrill statements.
With regard to the federal government, Kennedy further criticized that when a government criminalizes doctors for advising their patients, “it crosses a line that free societies have always viewed as inviolable.” He accused the German government of violating the “sacred relationship between doctor and patient” and warned that in such a system doctors would become “enforcers of state policy.”
