Austria is suspending the mandatory vaccination against COVID-19, as the Ministers for Health and Constitutional Affairs said today, six days before fines are imposed for violating this measure.
The measure had entered into force on 5 February but its implementation was expected to start on 15 March.
The decision to introduce the measure was announced in November, before the wider spread of the highly contagious, but less serious, variant strain Omicron in Austria. Since then the pressures on the intensive care units have been reduced.
“We have decided to follow the recommendations of the committee of experts” and “suspend” the measure, said Minister for Constitutional Affairs Carolyn Edstadler in a press conference.
“We do not see at the moment the need to implement the mandatory vaccination given the current variant,” which causes less severe symptoms than the Delta variant that was previously dominant, the minister explained.
“There is a lot of argument right now to say that this attack on fundamental rights is not justified,” she said.
From a political point of view, vaccination mandatory – the most sweeping measure of its kind in the European Union for all adults – has been a burden on the Conservative government as well as a favorite target of the far-right and anti-vaccination Freedom Party, the third largest Parliament.
The measure has failed to raise much of one of the lowest vaccination rates in Western Europe, and caution has been heightened since restrictions on vaccinated access to places such as bars and restaurants spread across most of the country.
The measure of compulsory vaccination concerned all citizens aged 18 and over in the country of 8.9 million inhabitants, with the exception of pregnant women, those who became ill during the previous 180 days and those who are excluded for medical reasons. The inspections were expected to begin in mid-March, with fines ranging from 600 to 3,600 euros.
Edstadler and Health Minister Johannes Rauch said the measure could be reversed if necessary in the event of a new variant.
“It’s not today that we are writing the final chapter on compulsory vaccination,” Edstadler said.
Source: AMPE
Source: Capital
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