Ljubljana - The Slovenian Medical Association has urged the authorities to impose mandatory vaccination against Covid-19 in order to return the healthcare system to normal.

"We believe it is urgent to protect all patients and give them access to medical services that they had prior to the epidemic," the association said on Friday.

It said individual freedom was circumscribed with the freedom of others. "The unvaccinated are a threat to vaccinated yet immunologically frail individuals, which is not ethical. The medical science offers vaccination as the only successful measure."

Vaccination may not offer full-proof protection, but most vaccinated individuals have mild symptoms, which makes it possible to treat more patients with other illnesses, said the voluntary society of doctors and dentists that boasts over 4,000 members.

Health Minister Janez Poklukar said as he commented on the call that he was happy that discussions had been launched in recent days on mandatory vaccination and the recovered-vaccinated (PC) rule and the future status of the unvaccinated people.

Speaking at a press conference dedicated to a vaccination campaign, Poklukar said society would have to take a position on this, and that it would need to be as united as possible in this regard.

In addition to medical professionals, which would say, for instance, what vaccination rate is needed, professionals in other fields such as sociology and law would also have their say in determining the methods for how to achieve this.

The minister noted that the neighbouring countries were already making decisions that certain segments of society must meet the PC condition, adding that this was not only a matter for the health minister but "for all of us."