The German government has issued a firm and public rebuttal to claims made by United States Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., which alleged that Berlin sidelined patient rights and prosecuted physicians during the coronavirus pandemic.
Kennedy's Allegations Spark Transatlantic Dispute
In a video statement posted on Saturday 11 January 2026, Secretary Kennedy stated he had sent a formal letter to German Health Minister Nina Warken. His communication was based on reports suggesting the German state was "limiting people’s abilities to act on their own convictions" regarding medical choices.
The American official went further, asserting that "more than a thousand German physicians and thousands of their patients" were facing legal action for issuing exemptions from mask mandates or COVID-19 vaccinations. Kennedy accused the German government of violating the doctor-patient relationship and turning medical professionals into enforcers of state policy.
Berlin's Forceful Denial
Minister Warken responded decisively late on the same Saturday, labelling Kennedy's statements as "completely unfounded, factually incorrect, and must be rejected." She clarified the legal position during the health crisis, emphasising that there was never a legal obligation for doctors to administer the COVID-19 jab.
"Anyone who did not want to offer vaccinations for medical, ethical, or personal reasons was not liable to prosecution, nor did they have to fear sanctions," Warken's statement read. She stressed that prosecution was solely reserved for cases involving criminal acts like fraud and the forgery of documents, such as fake vaccination or mask certificates.
Former Minister and Broader Context
Karl Lauterbach, who served as Germany's health minister throughout the pandemic, also entered the fray. Addressing Kennedy directly on social media platform X, he suggested the US Secretary should focus on domestic health challenges, citing America's "short life expectancy, extreme costs, [and] tens of thousands of drug deaths."
Lauterbach underscored the independence of the German judiciary, stating doctors are not punished by the government but by independent courts for criminal wrongdoing. The row emerges against a backdrop where, while most Germans supported vaccination efforts, a minority of vaccine skeptics, sometimes aligned with far-right groups, staged protests against pandemic measures.
Both German ministers reaffirmed that, in general, patient autonomy remains a cornerstone of the country's healthcare system, with individuals free to choose their preferred therapies.
