Austria becomes first Western country to resort to mandatory coronavirus vaccination

Austria has become the first Western democracy to resort to mandatory vaccination in response to a record-breaking surge in infections that has flooded its hospitals with critical COVID-19 patients.

Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg announced Friday that COVID-19 vaccination would be mandatory in the Alpine republic from February 2022.

That makes Austria the first European country — and one of the first in the world — to impose compulsory coronavirus vaccination.

“We have not managed to get enough unvaccinated people to get vaccinated. The most recent measures have increased daily vaccinations but not enough," Schallenberg said. "For a long time, it was consensus in the country that a vaccine mandate is not necessary, but we have to face reality."

Austria will also enter a nationwide lockdown for a maximum of 20 days from next Monday, Schallenberg added.

The decision by Schallenberg, who has only been in the job for just over a month after predecessor Sebastian Kurz stepped down amid a sleaze investigation, marks a dramatic escalation in Vienna’s policy response after Austria’s fourth coronavirus wave went ballistic.

The central European country is grappling with a surging infection rate, as more than 15,000 new cases were reported Thursday, up from 11,000 earlier this week.

Takeup of coronavirus vaccination by Austria’s nine million people has been relatively low by European standards, at 65.5 percent, despite ample availability of doses procured centrally for EU member states.

That reflects a more widespread skepticism in German-speaking countries — in particular in regions where parties of the political far right that have campaigned against pandemic restrictions enjoy strong support.

That, in turn, has left societies wide open to the Delta variant, which is more infectious than earlier iterations of the coronavirus and thrives in colder weather.

Syl wrote:

Tommy Monk wrote:


He's a mechanic so had to work, dealing with customers and getting in and out of their cars etc... And he got the covid last Christmas and ended up staying home on his own rather than going to his daughters as he was planning.

Fair enough Tommy.
Obviously some people had to work and mix throughout the lockdowns.