First in Europe: Austria makes vaccination against Covid-19 mandatory

Sylvie Claire / November 20, 2021

Austria will confine its entire population as of Monday and has decided to make vaccination compulsory as of February 1, becoming the first EU country to take such measures in response to the resurgence of Covid cases.

Despite months of advocacy, we have not been able to convince enough people to get vaccinated, he said, lamenting the current overcrowding in intensive care units.

Increasing the rate of vaccination in the long term is the only way out of this vicious circle, said Schallenberg, calling it the ticket out of the pandemic.

While an increasing number of countries require vaccination certificates for certain categories, such as health care workers, very few countries in the world require vaccination for their entire adult population.

This is the case in two authoritarian states in Central Asia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, as well as in the Vatican. New Caledonia, a French territory in the South Pacific with a large degree of autonomy, has also decided to impose vaccination from the end of December.

The Austrian chancellor also announced a lockdown until December 13, a decision that was not easy to take and that will be reassessed in ten days.

He said he was aware that a lot was being asked of those vaccinated, because too many people have not shown solidarity.

Since Monday already in Austria, the two million unvaccinated people were not allowed to leave their homes except for shopping, sports or medical care.

From now on, the entire population of 8.9 million inhabitants is concerned by the measure in this country with a vaccination rate of 66%, slightly below the European average, despite the introduction of a health pass in the spring.

A demonstration supported by the far-right FPÖ party is planned for Saturday in Vienna and thousands of people are expected to attend.

His anti-vaccine leader, tested positive for coronavirus, will not be able to attend. Austria is now a dictatorship, Herbert Kickl said on Friday in response to the new measures.

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First in Europe: Austria makes vaccination against Covid-19 mandatory

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