How to counter the progression of Covid-19? While Germany is considering making vaccination compulsory, focus on Austria, which has made compulsory vaccination, and Singapore, which will no longer reimburse medical costs for unvaccinated people.
In Austria, compulsory vaccination against Covid-19
Austria has decided that the Covid-19 vaccine will be mandatory from next February. The government had first tried to impose containment on only the unvaccinated but this was not enough to slow the resurgence of the epidemic in the country. This is why the eco-conservative coalition then decided on a lockdown for the entire population which is in effect until December 12. After this date, it could be extended again for the unvaccinated only.
At the same time, Austria has in fact decided that vaccination will become compulsory from February. A bill to this effect will be presented next week. Several rounds of discussions are planned to develop it. During a first meeting this week, the government affirmed that this vaccination obligation would not concern primary school pupils but it is not yet known from what age this measure will apply. Just as it is not known to what sanctions those who refuse to do so will expose themselves.
In recent days, this measure has brought together tens of thousands of opponents in the streets of several Austrian cities. A protest encouraged by the FPÖ, the far right party. The FPÖ is also not invited to discussions on the bill, unlike the other parties, because it is firmly against and accused of instrumentalizing the opposition movement, which brings together extremes but not only.
The Minister of the Constitution Karoline Edtstadler also wanted to apologize to some of the unvaccinated people. “I would like to apologize to those who have so far felt that they were not addressed enough, who may have felt that they were mistaken for people with extreme opinions., she said. If anyone has felt stigmatized, know that we never wanted that. We wish, on the contrary, to address ourselves to those who may still be concerned, which is why a broad alliance, beyond partisan divisions, is necessary. ”
To date, only 67% of Austrians have received their two doses of the vaccine.
In Singapore, unvaccinated Covid-19 patients will have to pay their medical bills
Rather than an obligation to vaccinate, the Singaporean government has opted for a constraint that can prove financially heavy for the unvaccinated: to make them pay the medical expenses of their hospitalization – which were until then fully reimbursed – if ever they must be. admitted to intensive care. And the bill can be steep because the average cost of hospitalization in the event of Covid-19 is … 16,200 euros. In the sights of this measure which will come into force on December 7: seniors. Singapore hopes to encourage them to be vaccinated, because if 4% of those eligible for vaccination have not yet been vaccinated, this percentage increases to 6% in the seventies, and to 12% among the oldest still.
This approach is a turning point, because at the start of the vaccine campaign, Singapore was rather seeking to encourage without coercing, for example by making the Chinese Sinovac vaccine available to people who were suspicious of messenger RNA vaccines, or by appealing for a idol prevention spot from an old singing Singaporean sitcom “Go get the vaccine and stay calm.”
And if Singapore decides to crack down, it is because it remains worried about the overflow of the hospital system, while this small country has abandoned the zero Covid strategy. If 87% of Singaporeans are vaccinated, they remain in the minority in intensive care, assure the health authorities. But the government is not only counting on this measure, it has also announced that it is preparing to double the number of beds of Covid units in one month, and to compensate for the lack of personnel, some do not hesitate to also use a financial tool: a private hospital group therefore offers a bonus of up to 8,000 euros for any member of its staff who manages to recruit an additional nurse.
For now in Singapore, reviews are rare. And in the United States, the decision to no longer reimburse the medical expenses of the unvaccinated has been rather the subject of jokes. Comedian Ronny Chieng, best known for playing in the film Crazy Rich Asians, drew the parallel between the exorbitant costs of hospitals in the United States and those in Singapore where he grew up, saying in the very popular Daily Show “To be treated like the American health care system is truly the worst punishment you can inflict.”