“The announcement of the 2G rule in Austria on November 5th led to an increase in the vaccination rate,” said Andreas Peichl, head of the Munich Ifo Center for Macroeconomics and Surveys, on Wednesday about the investigation in German-Austrian border regions. The subsequent lockdown for unvaccinated people on November 15, however, did not significantly influence the trend of increasing willingness to vaccinate, it said. In contrast, the announcement of a general lockdown, which has been in place in Austria since November 22, has weakened the trend somewhat. “Targeted restrictions for people who refuse to vaccinate therefore seem to increase willingness to vaccinate more than a lockdown for everyone,” said Hannes Winner, professor of economics at the University of Salzburg and co-author of the study.
The investigation extended from October 4 to December 4, 2021. At the beginning of the observation period, the vaccination rate in the Austrian border districts was 61.1 percent, while German districts had a rate of 57.2 percent. On December 4, the vaccination quota in the Austrian border area was 68 percent and in German districts 61 percent. Information about initial vaccinations in 13 German districts and 16 Austrian districts along the national border was evaluated.
Source: Nachrichten
