As reported, tests will continue to be carried out three times a week, and air filters could also be used in some schools. Until recently, it was unclear how the mask requirement would continue in class. Faßmann recently announced “privileges” for vaccinated students and mentioned, for example, an exemption from wearing a mask. For Faßmann, however, the highest possible vaccination rate for teachers and also students is central – without any obligation, as is emphasized entirely on the government line.
Ping-pong about compulsory vaccination
The ping-pong game about partial compulsory vaccination, especially in the health sector, did not end yesterday: As reported, Lower Austria even pushed ahead with compulsory vaccination for all new state employees from September 1st, most other states, including Upper Austria, are demanding a nationwide requirement. Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein (Greens), in turn, refers to the state responsibility for the hospitals.
It could “not be that in a pandemic important questions with such a serious national impact are regulated differently by countries,” insisted Upper Austria Health Councilor Christine Haberlander yesterday. Carinthia, Tyrol, Salzburg and Styria do not want to go it alone either. Mückstein stuck to it: In the health sector, a mandatory vaccination is “welcome”, but this “can and should” be “requested by the carriers themselves”.
On the question of the third trick, the federal and state governments still have a need for coordination, but not much time left. As confirmed by the Ministry of Health, “the booster vaccinations should start in the fall”, which is currently recommended nine months after full immunization.
Refreshment from October
In response to a request from OÖN, the Upper Austria crisis team said that “various options were currently being prepared, it is important that there be a binding statement soon”. From mid-October the number of those who have been vaccinated for nine months will increase significantly, and by the end of November it will be around 75,000 in Upper Austria alone.
Tyrol’s governor Günther Platter (VP) also quickly asked for “clarity” as to who should get the third trick and when. According to the Ministry of Health, the only thing that is fixed so far is that vulnerable groups will receive a third vaccination: “Based on the current study situation, it is not yet possible to conclusively assess whether a booster vaccination will really be necessary for all people after nine months.” The EU Commission also referred in a statement to the European Medicines Agency, whose assessment is pending.
For Mückstein, persuasion for basic immunization is still in the foreground, the federal states should create further low-threshold vaccination offers. According to complexity researcher Peter Klimek from the Complexity Science Hub, herd immunity is out of reach: he believes a vaccination coverage of 80 percent can only be achieved through a general vaccination requirement, he said in a radio interview. In an article for the specialist journal “The Lancet”, he and 33 leading experts worldwide warn against “repeating the mistakes of the previous year” in the autumn. Vaccination alone will not be enough, good risk communication and testing, tracing and isolation are still necessary in the fight against the pandemic, so the conclusion. (yeah)
