Austria became the first country in Europe to introduce a national mandatory vaccination against Covid-19 for adults. The law came into force this Friday (4) after the signing of President Alexander Van der Bellen.
According to the law, those without a vaccination certificate can potentially be punished with initial fines of 600 euros (about R$3,640.00).
The country’s parliament passed the law in late January. The Austrian authorities, however, will only start doing checks from March 15th.
Pregnant women and people who cannot be vaccinated – for health reasons – are exempt from the law, according to the Austrian Ministry of Health website. People who are recovering from a Covid-19 infection are also exempt for 180 days, counting from the date they received their first positive diagnosis for the PCR test.
The law will be in effect until January 31, 2024 and provides for unvaccinated persons to face maximum fines of €3,600 (more than R$21,000) up to four times a year if they are not on a vaccination record by the assigned vaccination date. .
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is pushing for a vaccine mandate as part of the country’s Covid-19 containment strategy, and a major vote on a possible vaccine mandate is expected in late March.
Both Germany and Austria have vaccination rates higher than the European Union (EU) average of 70.4% with two doses, according to data from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.
But despite the immunization rate of 74% and 72.7%, respectively, health officials’ concerns have not been assuaged.
Source: CNN Brasil
