Austria will make compulsory, at the beginning of February, for adults, vaccination against Covid-19, confirmed Chancellor Karl Nehammer, Sunday January 16. “It’s a sensitive project” corn “in accordance with the Constitution”, that requires “a phase of adaptation” allowing recalcitrants to be vaccinated “until mid-March”, detailed in a press conference the conservative head of government, who leads this country with environmentalists. “Checks will be carried out” and not being vaccinated will constitute a “offense” liable to “penalties” financial amounts varying between 600 and 3,600 euros, in the event of a repeat offence.
A time considered, the vaccination of minors over the age of 14 has been abandoned and only adults will be concerned, said the leader by presenting the bill, which must be adopted Thursday by Parliament. All week, heated debates took place in Parliament concerning this project, while approximately 78.5% of the eligible population has at this stage a complete vaccination schedule. Some 27,000 people demonstrated again on Saturday in the Austrian capital against this controversial measure, accused of flouting individual freedoms.
The Austrian government justifies this rare measure by the overcrowding of hospitals and its desire to achieve a vaccination rate of 90%. It has a large majority in the chamber: in addition to the Conservatives and the Greens, the leaders of the Social Democratic and Liberal parties support the text. Only the extreme right is opposed to it, in the name of the protection of individual freedoms.
On Sunday, according to government figures, 5.8 million people in Austria had an up-to-date vaccination pass, out of 7.4 million people eligible for vaccination. Exceptions are provided for pregnant women and all persons who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons. But the entry of these exceptions in the national register of vaccinations will only be possible from April at the earliest, warned the body responsible for this collection.
The vaccination pass is required in an increasing number of countries for certain professions, population categories or the practice of activities. But the compulsory anti-Covid vaccination for all remains an exception. It entered into force in Ecuador, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Indonesia. In Germany, a similar project, defended by the new Social Democratic Chancellor Olaf Scholz, could be debated in the Bundestag at the end of January.