Austria brings in law enforcing Covid vaccinations

AN AUSTRIAN law making it compulsory for adults to get vaccinated against coronavirus came into force yesterday, marking the European Union’s first such sweeping Covid-19 vaccine mandate.

The new legislation is the culmination of a process that began in November in the face of the rapid spread of the omicron variant. But despite the threat of the measure, the vaccination rate in Austria has still failed to take off: roughly 69 per cent of its population is fully vaccinated against Covid-19 – one of the lowest rates in the EU.

The law applies to all adult residents except pregnant women, those who have contracted the virus within the past 180 days and those with medical exemptions. Checks will begin next month, with fines ranging from €600 to €3,600 (£508-£3,046) – lifted if the person fined gets vaccinated within two weeks.

Herbert Kickl, leader of the Freedom Party, called the law “unconstitutional”.