Austria is sticking to the corona vaccination requirement from February

The vaccination requirement is for people over 18 and not as previously planned 14 years apply. Controls should begin in mid-March, including in road traffic, as Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein (Greens) said. For those who refuse to vaccinate, there is a penalty of 600 and 3600 euros if they do not comply with a vaccination request and miss a vaccination appointment.

The law applies to all people residing in Austria. Exceptions are made for pregnant women and people who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons. Those who have recovered should be exempt for 180 days.

Parliament is due to approve the law on Thursday (January 20). This is considered a formality because the governing coalition of the conservative ÖVP and the Greens has the necessary simple majority.

Of the opposition parties, only the right-wing FPÖ, which co-governed from 2017 to 2019, categorically rejects compulsory vaccination . Opponents of the law criticize, among other things, that vaccinations are prescribed that only insufficiently prevent the virus from being passed on.

“It’s not about a fight between the vaccinated and the unvaccinated,” said Chancellor Karl Nehammer. Rather, it is about society as a whole being able to live in freedom again. He tested positive himself in January. But thanks to his vaccination, he always had the confidence not to have to go to the hospital, he said. According to Nehammer, he recovered quickly.