In relation to the vaccination coverage up to the end of August, Mückstein refers to “at least 70 percent of those willing to vaccinate”, which it is now necessary to reach with offers that are as low-threshold as possible. Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein (Greens) stated this in response to a parliamentary question from Neos.
It remains to be seen whether this will work out, as the vaccinations are decreasing. By August 15, 60.36 percent of the total population or almost 5.4 million people had received at least one corona vaccination. Almost five million or 55.92 percent are fully immunized, although the vaccination rate has decreased significantly in recent weeks. Yesterday, Sunday, 6,642 people were immunized – that’s not even a quarter of the value that was reached two weeks earlier. On August 1, 26,930 stings were administered against the coronavirus.
Regional differences
There are still significant regional differences. The municipality of Spiss in the Tyrolean district of Landeck is 29.29 percent fully immunized, while Auerbach in the Braunau / Inn district in Upper Austria and Stall in the Carinthian district of Spittal / Drau lag behind with 29.39 and 30.46 percent respectively. If you take a look at the individual federal states, vaccine fatigue is currently the greatest in Upper Austria with a proportion of 51.99 fully immunized people. Salzburg and Carinthia have 53.11 and 53.18 percent respectively, Vienna 53.51 percent. The highest vaccination rate is by far in Burgenland, where 63.80 percent of the population is extensively protected. More than 60 percent of those who are fully immunized, with currently 60.03 percent, are otherwise only found in Lower Austria.
The “Austria vaccinates” campaign, which is located in the Chancellery and coordinated with other departments, is intended to contribute to increasing the willingness to vaccinate and the targeted vaccination rate of at least 70 percent. In addition, Mückstein refers to the weekly exchange between the Ministry of Health and the vaccination coordinators in the countries where – as Mückstein emphasizes – experiences and best practice examples are exchanged and new ideas are developed: “The focus is on getting more people for a corona -To motivate vaccination and to create vaccination offers that are as low-threshold as possible and adapted to the respective regional conditions. “
To this end, Mückstein wants to deepen communication with individual stakeholders. Above all, the education and information of communities with a stronger migration background is to be intensified. There should be more information and arguments about vaccination in different languages as well as micro-campaigns in foreign-language print and online media. Furthermore, targeted, low-threshold addressing of families via associations and clubs, with which children and adolescents as well as pregnant and breastfeeding women are to be reached. Finally, low-threshold short videos in several languages are also being considered, in which experts deal with the most frequently asked questions about vaccination.
