Podcast “Another thing learned” on the compulsory vaccination in Austria: “Nobody is detained and then vaccinated”

Austria introduces compulsory vaccination. Those who do not want to be vaccinated against the coronavirus face high fines from February. The Austrian government wants to push the vaccination quota up. However, compulsory vaccination can also have exactly the opposite effect.

Austria is a pioneer when it comes to compulsory vaccination. It will be the first EU country to introduce a general compulsory corona vaccination for everyone aged 14 and over from February 2022. An obligation to vaccinate has so far been very rare: it only exists in the Vatican, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, in the island state of Micronesia and on the New Caledonia archipelago. In contrast, significantly more countries – for example Italy, France and Greece – have already prescribed partial compulsory vaccination for certain occupational groups. In Germany, too, people who work in old people’s homes or in the health sector must be vaccinated from mid-March 2022. Work is still being carried out on a general compulsory vaccination in this country.

The exit and contact restrictions did not lead to reducing the infections and preventing stress and overloading of the intensive care units, says the fundamental rights expert Michael Lysander Fremuth in the ntv podcast “Learned again”. He is Professor of Fundamental and Human Rights at the Institute for Constitutional and Administrative Law at the University of Vienna and Director of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Fundamental and Human Rights. Fremuth considers the introduction of compulsory vaccination appropriate and proportionate, although it is a “significant encroachment on fundamental rights”. “Here, last but not least, the courts have established that the individual can be expected to have to endure a vaccination if it is to protect the health of vulnerable people in particular,” explains Fremuth.

The European Court of Human Rights ruled in April that vaccination is legal. It was about the compulsory vaccination for children in the Czech Republic – against measles, tetanus and other diseases. But the judgment could be transferred to the general compulsory vaccination against Covid-19, estimates Fremuth.

Unvaccinated people can vaccinate themselves out of fine

In Austria, almost 70 percent of the population are vaccinated against Corona, just like in Germany. But that is not enough, said the Austrian Minister of Health Wolfgang Mückstein last week. It is now too late for soft measures, says the behavioral economist Florian Spitzer from the Institute for Higher Studies in Vienna at “Wieder was learned”. But he is still sure that the compulsory vaccination will cause problems.

Spitzer is convinced that timely vaccination campaigns, such as in Portugal, would not have required vaccination. “For example the fixed vaccination appointments. The way the whole campaign was set up, that it was communicated through people who enjoyed trust and not through politics. It is a shame that something similar was not set here much earlier and This might have saved the vaccination obligation. ” By people who enjoy trust, Spitzer means people who have a role model function. These can be friends, colleagues, neighbors, religious personalities or even idols.

Anyone who does not want to be vaccinated against Covid-19 in Austria in the future has to dig deep into their pockets. There are fines of 600 to 3600 euros. Those who have not picked up a prick on certain deadlines have to pay. However, anyone affected by this can inoculate themselves out of the punishment. If the person presents proof of this, the proceedings will be discontinued, announced Health Minister Mückstein. “If we operate with pure fines, there is a certain risk that people who can afford it buy themselves out and pay these fines again and again,” fears Florian Spitzer. Instead, he suggests penalties or community service based on income.

The proposed fines may not put everyone off. That’s why other measures are needed, says the behavioral economist. For example, a mandatory consultation appointment, as suggested by his colleagues at the Institute for Advanced Studies. “That you first put mandatory counseling first, then you have a certain period of time when you should carry out the vaccinations and then come with penalties relatively late.” Acceptance will also be increased if the right to have a say is as large as possible. “That you can choose the vaccine, the appointment, when it will be carried out, maybe also the doctor”, Spitzer enumerates.

Nobody is forced to vaccinate

Anyone who is vaccinated is entered in the vaccination register in Austria. A database in which all vaccinated persons are registered. This is also being discussed in Germany, but Chancellor Olaf Scholz has been against it so far. “First of all, people who have not been vaccinated must be recorded. Then a vaccination register is required because the ministerial draft for the introduction of a general obligation in Austria provides for interval vaccinations and also revaccinations,” explains Michael Lysander Fremuth. “That means I have to collect data and process data to determine who is not vaccinated or who is vaccinated and needs a booster vaccination.”

The Austrian vaccination register is compared with the population register every three months. If you don’t have a vaccination yet, you will be asked to do so or you can have a reason for an exception entered in the vaccination register. Proceedings may be initiated against those who do not do this. But: there will be no physical coercion, emphasizes the expert on fundamental and human rights. “Austria has decided against the introduction of substitute custody and against the exercise of direct authority and coercion. That means that the vaccination obligation will not actually be enforced. The police will not come to detain a person so that they can then be vaccinated.”

A compulsory vaccination alone is not enough, says Florian Spitzer in the podcast. In addition, you have to talk to people and educate them. For example, why the vaccination is safe and how high the risk of side effects really is. He also doesn’t think financial incentives are a bad idea.

“Compulsory vaccination can lead to radicalization”

In addition, compulsory vaccination can have exactly the opposite effect – in other words, drive them further away from vaccination. At a opinion poll In all 28 EU states in 2018, it was shown that in countries with compulsory vaccinations, the safety and effectiveness of vaccinations are viewed more critically than in countries in which there is no compulsory vaccination.

A psychological effect is decisive here: the reactance phenomenon. This occurs when people think they are being restricted in their freedom. For example, when the state makes regulations in the medical field. “If someone assumes that the vaccination has really serious health effects on their own body, but then the state comes along and says you have to get vaccinated, there will be contradictory reactions. It may be that you keep the vaccination going procrastinates, “explains Spitzer.

There is also the risk of radicalization. You can see that in the anti-vaccination scene, which is getting bigger and bigger, is becoming more and more radical and is gaining support from the broader population. Another danger is the spillover effect. “If the vaccination is made compulsory, it can lead to that Vaccination generally negative sees and no longer has other vaccinations carried out, who may no longer have their own children vaccinated. Then of course we have a huge problem. “

It will take a few months to see whether the compulsory vaccination in Austria will raise the vaccination quota. By then, Germany will probably be able to figure out whether the commitment will help or not.