Austrian government suspends compulsory corona vaccination

Austrian government suspends compulsory corona vaccination

In Austria, the corona vaccination has been compulsory for a month. But that could soon be over. The obligation to vaccinate is not proportionate, said Constitutional Minister Karoline Edtstadler on Wednesday.

Austria was the first EU country to introduce general corona vaccination on February 6th. About a month later, the pandemic measure, which applied to all adults, is now to be suspended. In view of the currently predominant omicron variant of the corona virus, the obligation to vaccinate is not proportionate, said Constitutional Minister Karoline Edtstadler on Wednesday in Vienna. Health Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens) announced that a new decision should be made in three months.

With the decision to temporarily suspend compulsory vaccination, the government followed the recommendation of a commission of experts. When infected with the omicron variant, the disease progresses only mildly more often than with other virus variants.

Austria is a pioneer in the EU with compulsory vaccination

With its mandatory vaccinations introduced in February, Austria was considered a pioneer in the EU. The obligation applies to everyone over the age of 18. However, the control of compulsory vaccination and the imposition of fines should not begin until mid-March, which has now become obsolete. The vaccination rate in Austria is around 70 percent.

Source: Stern

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