Despite virulent opposition in the street, the Austrian Parliament adopted, on Thursday 20 January, the law on compulsory vaccination for all adults, becoming the first country in the European Union to take such a measure to fight against the epidemic of Covid-19. The project, announced in November to boost a faltering immunization campaign, was approved by a large section of the political class (137 for, 33 against out of 183 seats). The measure will come into effect on February 4.
“Vaccination is the chance for our society to achieve lasting and continuous freedom, without the virus restricting us”, Conservative Chancellor Karl Nehammer told reporters before the session opened. It is “a subject that is the subject of a very intense and passionate debate”, he admitted.
The objective, insists the government, is not to impose vaccination by force or to multiply the financial sanctions. These may range from 600 to 3,600 euros but will be waived if the offender is vaccinated within two weeks.
Events every weekend
In addition to the Greens, coalition partners of the Conservatives, the leaders of the Social Democratic and Liberal parties have given their support. Only the extreme right is opposed to it, in the name of the protection of individual freedoms.
The head of the FPÖ, fiercely anti-vaccine, lambasted during the debates “a project opening the way to totalitarianism in Austria”. “We do not have the majority today in Parliament, but we have it outside”, hammered Herbert Kickl, promising to defy the law.
Many Austrians are up in arms against the text and demonstrate almost every weekend in their tens of thousands. In this tense climate, the government fears excesses and announced this week the establishment of “protection perimeters” near health facilities, vaccination and testing centres.
72% of the population already vaccinated
This vote comes as Austria has never recorded so many positive cases, against the backdrop of the spread of the Omicron variant. Nearly 30,000 infections in twenty-four hours were recorded on Wednesday in this country where it is customary to be tested before going to a concert, for example.
About 72% of the population of 8.9 million inhabitants has, at this stage, a complete vaccination schedule, a lower percentage than that of France or Spain. According to figures provided by the Ministry of Health, one and a half million adults have yet to be convinced. A lottery has notably been announced, with, at the end of the day, a reward of 500 euros for those vaccinated.
To give time to recalcitrants who will all receive a summons, the checks phase will not begin until mid-March. A time concerned, minors over the age of 14 are ultimately not subject to this measure.
Compulsory vaccination against Covid-19 is gaining ground in a growing number of countries for certain professions or population categories. But taxation of the entire adult population remains unheard of in the EU and very rare in the world.