Starting on Saturday, Austrians over the age of 18 must be vaccinated against COVID-19 or face the possibility of a heavy fine, an unprecedented measure in the EU.
The new measure, adopted on Jan. 20 by the Austrian parliament, was signed into law by Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen on Friday, the culmination of a process that began in November last year.
The government decided to pursue its new tougher approach despite criticism within the country.
Photo: AFP
“No other country in Europe is following us on compulsory vaccines,” said Manuel Krautgartner, who has campaigned against the new approach.
In neighboring Germany, a similar law championed by the new Social Democrat Chancellor Olaf Scholz was debated last month in the Bundestag, or lower house of parliament, but has not made progress due to political divisions.
Despite the threat of such a drastic measure, the vaccination rate in Austria has still failed to take off, languishing below the levels seen in France or Spain.
Vienna vaccination centers remain relatively quiet.
“We are far from reaching maximum capacity, things are completely stagnating,” said Stefanie Kurzweil of the humanitarian association Arbeiter Samariter Bund, which oversees one of these sites.
Melanie, a 23-year-old waitress who was at a center to get her booster shot, but preferred not to give her full name, said she was there mainly to avoid ending up “locked up at home.”
Non-vaccinated people are currently prohibited from entering restaurants, sporting arenas and cultural venues, but are also to be subject to fines, which Melanie said is “unhealthy.”
The law applies to all adult residents with the exception of pregnant women, those who have contracted the virus within the past 180 days and those with medical exemptions.
Checks are to begin from mid-March, with sanctions ranging from 600 to 3,600 euros (US$687 to US$4,122).
A fine would be canceled if the ticketed person gets vaccinated within two weeks.
Other people waiting for their vaccination at the center said they are in favor of vaccination for all.
“We would have finished [the pandemic] a long time ago if everyone had been vaccinated,” legal worker Angelika Altmann said.
More than 60 percent of Austrians support the measure, a recent survey showed, but large swathes of the population remain strongly opposed.
For several weeks after the announcement of the new law, tens of thousands of people took to the streets to protest against what they regard as a radical and draconian policy.
Critics have also questioned the need for compulsory vaccinations given the far milder nature of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2.
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, a conservative who leads the Alpine country in a coalition with the environmentalist Green party, also announced a relaxation of earlier COVID-19 restrictions.
However, for Austrian Minister of Health Wolfgang Mueckstein, compulsory vaccination is aimed at protecting the country against new waves and fighting new variants.
Vaccination passes are now a reality in an increasing number of countries for certain professions or activities.
In Ecuador, vaccination against COVID-19 is compulsory, including for children over the age of five, a world first.
Before that, two states in central Asia — Tajikistan and Turkmenistan — mandated vaccination, as did Indonesia, even though less than half of its population has been vaccinated.
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