AUSTRIAN PARLIAMENT APPROVES VACCINE MANDATE FOR ADULTS
French premier says vaccine pass to go into effect Monday
Austria’s parliament voted Thursday to introduce a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for adults from Feb. 1, the first of its kind in Europe, with maximum potential fines of up to $4,000 for people who don’t comply after a series of reminders.
The move came the same day French Prime Minister Jean Castex announced a new COVID-19 pass will go into effect Monday, severely restricting the public lives of those who refuse to get inoculated by banning them from domestic flights, restaurants, sports events and other venues.
Lawmakers in Austria voted 137-33 in favor of the measure, which will apply to all residents 18 and older. Exemptions are made for pregnant women, people who for medical reasons can’t be vaccinated, or who have recovered from the coronavirus in the previous six months.
Officials say the mandate is necessary because vaccination rates remain too low in the small Alpine country. They say it will ensure that Austria’s hospitals are not overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients.
Health Minister Wolfgang Mueckstein, speaking in parliament Thursday afternoon, called the measure a “big, and, for the first time, also lasting step” in Austria’s fight against the pandemic.
“This is how we can manage to escape the cycle of opening and closing, of lockdowns,” he said, noting that it’s about fighting not just Omicron, but any future variants that might emerge. “That is why this law is so urgently needed right now.”
The Austrian government first announced the plan for a universal vaccine mandate at the same time it imposed a since-lifted lockdown in November, and amid concern that Austria’s vaccination rate was comparatively low for Western Europe. As of
Thursday, about 72 percent of the population of 8.9 million was considered fully vaccinated.
Austria’s governing coalition also announced Thursday that $1.59 billion will be invested in efforts and incentives to encourage unvaccinated people to get vaccinated. Of that sum, $1.13 billion will go toward a national vaccine lottery beginning March 15, while the rest will be directed to towns that reach a certain high vaccination rate.
In France, the prime minister said Thursday the new proof-of-vaccination rule is necessary to preserve and increase vaccination coverage in the event of new variants. The so-called vaccine pass “clearly puts constraints on the unvaccinated,” he added.
As of Monday, full vaccination will be needed to enter restaurants and bars, cinemas, theaters and other leisure and sport facilities, and to take interregional trains and domestic flights. The measure applies to everyone 16 and older. The government said some exceptions are planned for those who have recently recovered from COVID-19.
Castex also said France’s virus surge is showing signs of waning but pressure on hospitals remains high, which is why the government wants to keep current restrictions in place for 12 more days.
“This exceptional wave is not over, but its waning effects are a positive sign,” the prime minister told a press conference in Paris.
He said that, starting Feb. 2, working from home at least three days per week will no longer be mandated and wearing a mask outdoors will be lifted. Nightclubs will open Feb. 16.
Also starting Monday, children ages 12 to 17 years old will be eligible for a booster shoot, Castex said.
The vaccine pass is key to stopping the highly contagious Omicron variant from spreading, Castex said.
But he conceded that the measure could be suspended “if the number of infections sharply drops and the burden on hospitals becomes significantly lighter.”