The law on compulsory vaccination against Covid-19 will come into force on Saturday in Austria, an unprecedented measure within the European Union.
“Alexander Van der Bellen promulgated today (
Friday
) at noon the federal law on the obligation of vaccination against Covid-19”, announced the services of the Austrian president in a press release.
It was published immediately in the Official Journal and "will therefore be effective on Saturday", said a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health.
The Austrian press agency APA had previously mentioned an entry into force of the text on Sunday.
The text was adopted in the Austrian Parliament on January 20 by a large majority, only the extreme right voting against.
All residents over the age of 18 in this country of 8.9 million inhabitants are affected, with the exception of pregnant women, those who contracted the virus less than 180 days ago and finally those who can be exempted for medical reasons.
The checks will not begin until mid-March: sanctions may then be applied, for an amount varying from 600 to 3600 euros, but they will be lifted if the offender is vaccinated within two weeks.
Criticisms of Omicron's lesser gravity
More than 60% of Austrians support the measure according to a recent survey, but large sections of the population remain strongly opposed to it.
For several weeks, tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets since the announcement of the project in November to denounce a measure deemed radical and draconian.
Criticisms have also emerged on the sense of the law in the face of the lower severity of the Omicron variant and the explosion in the number of cases.
The government also announced at the same time an upcoming relaxation of health restrictions, including against non-vaccinated people, who are currently excluded from restaurants, cultural and sports venues.
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But for Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein, compulsory vaccination aims to protect against “new waves”, “to fight against new variants” which could appear in the months to come, he explained Thursday on Twitter.
Less than 70% of the population have a complete vaccination schedule (with the obligation in most cases to present three doses), a lower percentage than that of France or Spain and which has fallen following the recent expiration of many certificates.
The vaccination pass is required in an increasing number of countries for certain professions or activities, but the anti-Covid vaccination compulsory for all remains an exception.
