Compulsory vaccination for everyone over 18 is legalised in Austria

This week the European Director of the WHO said that Europe is entering a phase that will lead to the end of the pandemic on the continent, but many countries disagree with him as they claim they are far from bending the curve of infections, hospital pressure, and deaths that the omicron variant is bringing.

One of those countries is Austria who are experiencing the peak of infections with 33,000 new cases a day over the last week, and two million people affected in total, which has led the country’s president, Alexander Van der Bellen to impose compulsory vaccination for anyone over the age of 18.

Van der Bellen has stamped his signature on the so-called ‘Federal Law on Compulsory Vaccination’ after its approval by Parliament, which makes Austria the first country in Europe to mandate compulsory vaccination for the general population.

In neighbouring Germany, for example, the introduction of compulsory vaccinations is still being discussed, and Italy and Greece have both introduced them for senior citizens.

In Austria, the new rule applies to all residents over the age of 18, except for pregnant women and those who cannot be vaccinated due to medical problems. However, an ordinance from the Minister of Health regulating the implementation details is still pending, reports the Austrian public broadcaster ORF.

The Health Department in Austria have said, in much the same way as the Minister of Health for Spain did on Thursday, that the quickest and easiest way to reduce hospital pressure and admissions of patients with Covid, is with vaccination because the vast majority of admissions into wards and ICU are unvaccinated.

Under the new law, people who have recently recovered from a coronavirus infection are exempt from compulsory vaccination under certain conditions, but violators will be fined up to €3,600 from mid-March when random checks will be carried out.

[BOXPOSTS