In addition to the compulsory vaccination, there should now be a vaccination fleet with which vouchers worth 500 euros can be won. Municipalities should receive financial resources, the amount of which depends on the vaccination rate in the respective municipality.
This was announced by Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP), Vice-Chancellor Werner Kogler (Greens) and SPÖ party leader Pamela Rendi-Wagner on Thursday morning in a joint press conference before the National Council meeting in which compulsory vaccination is decided.
Every tenth person vaccinated has a chance of winning
With the vaccination fleet, every tenth vaccinated person should have a chance to win. This applies to those who have already been vaccinated and also to those who are only just getting vaccinated. Specifically, there is a chance to win for each partial vaccination – if you have been vaccinated three times, you can win three times. The lottery should start on March 15, according to Nehammer – i.e. parallel to the entry into force of the compulsory vaccination controls.
Online trade should be excluded
The vouchers to be won worth 500 euros should be redeemable at Austrian companies – in retail, gastronomy, hotels, cultural and sports facilities. Online trading should be excluded as far as possible. The lottery is to be carried out by the ORF together with partners.
Financial incentive system for municipalities
There should be a financial incentive system for the municipalities. With a vaccination rate of 80 percent, a base amount totaling 75 million euros will be distributed, with 85 percent it will be 150 million and with 90 percent 300 million euros will be distributed. As an example, Nehammer gave an average municipality with 3,000 inhabitants, which would receive 30,000 euros with a vaccination rate of 80 percent, 60,000 euros with 85 percent and 120,000 euros with 90 percent. The money distributed can then be invested in kindergartens, playgrounds or other municipal tasks.
Nehammer emphasized that the package should be a reward for those who have already been vaccinated. In addition, it is intended to provide an incentive for everyone who is still unsure and has not yet been vaccinated. A total of up to EUR 1.4 billion has been reserved for the measures – up to EUR 1 billion for the lottery and up to EUR 400 million for the municipalities.
“We have to free ourselves from the constant threat to the health system, the economy and the labor market in the medium term and sustainably,” Rendi-Wagner justified the measures. Kogler once again defended the obligation to vaccinate: “In this way, the freedom of the many is protected – this requires interference with individual rights so that we can get out of the lockdown loop or massive interventions and relaxation.” It is also clear that you will not reach everyone: “You don’t have to chase after every neo-Nazi.”
According to Nehammer, the ÖVP will vote in favor of compulsory vaccination in the National Council. Rendi-Wagner and Kogler did not rule out individual dissenting votes from their parliamentary groups.
At the same time, the 3G rule at work and the free tests for it are to be secured. A motion for a resolution is intended to clarify that “existing labor or social security regulations and claims remain unaffected by the COVID-19 Vaccination Act”.
Source: Nachrichten
