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Will Austria really be able to vaccinate everyone who wants it by the end of June?

Earlier in 2021, Austria promised everyone who wanted a vaccine could get one by the start of July. With the deadline looming, will the goal be met?

A woman recieves a vaccine. Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP)
More people want to be vaccinated as the campaign progresses, federal states in Austria report. Photo by JOE KLAMAR / AFP))

At the beginning of April, Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) assured that all Austrians willing to vaccinate could receive their first vaccination by the end of June. 

According to research from the Austrian Press Agency (APA), the only states in Austria where this promise will definitely be kept will be in Lower Austria and Salzburg. 

READ MORE: Can Austria stick to its every adult vaccinated in 100 days target?

Although more than five million vaccine doses have now been given in Austria, more than half of the population eligible to be vaccinated has not had a first jab. 

Kurz said in April he assumed only two thirds of Austrians aged over 16 (7.5 million people), would register to receive a vaccine, leaving him with the target of vaccinating five million people before the end of July. 

Currently around 3.6 million people have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine. 

 

Die Impfung ist unser Ausweg aus der Pandemie & mit ihr kommen wir der Normalität Schritt für Schritt näher!

Posted by Sebastian Kurz on Thursday, April 8, 2021

Vaccine hesitancy has been decreasing in Austria according to APA research with federal states, meaning demand is still high as the rollout continues. 

Many second vaccination doses are due

In addition, the pace of first vaccinations is unlikely to significantly increase, as many second vaccinations are now due, the broadcaster ORF reports.

Last week, the pace of first vaccinations slowed to 35,000 per week, rather than 40,000 to 50,000 per week as seen earlier in May.

However, the number of vaccine dose deliveries should increase in June. In May, 500,000 vaccine doses per week were delivered to Austria, in June it should be up to 700,000 per week.

Lower Austria 

In Lower Austria, State Health Councillor Ulrike Königsberger-Ludwig told APA all people who have registered for the coronavirus vaccination will receive their first injection by the end of June. Since May 10th all age groups from 16 upwards have been able to register for a vaccine. 

Some children aged twelve could be vaccinated as early as June in Lower Austria, especially if they belong to a risk group, according to ORF

Salzburg

In Salzburg, all those who registered for a coronavirus vaccination by May 26th should have received the first jab by the end of June. Those who missed out on this deadline will be eligible from July, health officer LH-Deputy Christian Stoeckl told APA.

Since June 1st, all Salzburg residents aged twelve and over have been able to register for the vaccination, and vaccination of 12 to 20-year-olds is planned over the summer. 

Vienna

A spokesman for the Vienna City Councilor for Health Peter Hacker (SPÖ) told APA that he could not promise everyone who wanted to be vaccinated in Vienna would be able to, as new entries were constantly made in the city’s reservation platform. 

Vienna, which has the lowest vaccination rate of any federal state, plans to have vaccinated up to 60 percent of the population by the end of June. By mid-July – depending on the availability of the vaccine – 70 percent is expected and up to  80 percent in August, including children aged 12 and up.

Priority groups will continue to be vaccinated for the time being with no release of appointments for all groups planned. 

Upper Austria 

In Upper Austria, vaccinations have been open to everyone since May 29th, and there are no longer any priorities. It is currently possible to book a vaccination appointment until the week of July 19th-25th.

Health Councillor Christine Haberlander (ÖVP) said if Upper Austria were given more vaccines the state could administer up to 180,000 vaccinations per week.

Vorarlberg 

In Vorarlberg the vaccination prioritisation based on age, risk or occupational group was lifted three weeks ago. Vorarlberg says it will send all those who have registered on the platform an invitation for a vaccination appointment by the end of June.

Styria 

In Styria all people who registered with the vaccine portal before May 25th will receive an appointment before July 7th.

Any leftover doses will be given to people who have registered with the vaccine service since May 25th onwards. Appointments can only be given out once vaccines are in stock in sufficient quantities, according to the federal state. 

Burgenland

Burgenland’s Coronavirus coordination team say it will “probably not” work out that all those willing to vaccinate have received the first vaccination by the end of June as they do not think they will receive enough vaccine doses in time.

However, the team assumes everyone who is currently registered can be vaccinated by mid-July. Appointments will be given out shortly before the vaccines become available. 

Carinthia 

In Carinthia, new people are registering regularly on the vaccine portal and willingness to vaccinate is increasing to around 60 percent of the population, according to spokesman Gerd Kurath. 

He added that the waiting list is stuck at around 50,000 people due to these factors, with more wanting to be vaccinated than vaccines available.

Appointments will be planned from week to week according to age categories. In addition, many second vaccinations are now due so “unfortunately”  first vaccinations may have to wait, he said.

Tyrol 

Tyrol was unable to tell the APA  when all those willing to be vaccinated would receive their first dose. Plans in this federal state are made “from week to week”. Since Friday, May 28th, vaccination appointments will start for people in all age categories from 16 to 50-years-old. However, older people will still be prioritised. 

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CRIME

Are there ‘young gangs’ forming in Vienna?

If you read Austrian tabloid media, Vienna has a 'gang' problem, with several crimes committed by groups of young people in recent months. But is that true?

Are there 'young gangs' forming in Vienna?

Austrian tabloid media jumps on such stories: a group of teenage girls breaking into cars in Linz or vandalism and robberies committed by young people in Vienna. Particularly in the capital, it seems that there was a rise in crimes committed by groups of young people. But does that mean that Vienna has a gang problem?

According to the newspaper daily Der Standard, the Vienna Provincial Police Directorate (LPD) repeatedly states that the much-cited youth gangs do not exist but that there is “an increase in young people appearing in groups and committing offences”.  

What does that mean, and what is the difference between “young people appearing in groups and committing offences” and gangs?

According to the police: “The term gang is commonly used in everyday language – without a precise definition in this context. In criminal law, however, the term is clearly defined. From a criminal law perspective, a gang is an organised, hierarchically structured group of people intent on committing offences on an ongoing basis.”

READ ALSO: Which crimes are on the rise in Austria?

According to the police, they are dealing with “groups that come together spontaneously” and are not “hierarchically organised.” These groups mostly commit “thefts or minor robberies” but are not criminal organisations. 

So, technically, Vienna does not have a “youth gang” problem, but it does have an increase in young people in groups committing crimes – though the police didn’t share official numbers.

A recent Kurier report stated that the number of crimes committed by young people and children under the age of 14 has doubled in the last ten years.

At the same time, there has only been a slight increase among young people over the age of 14 and even a decrease among young adults. The main crimes committed by young people and adolescents are theft, damage to property, assault, burglary and dangerous threats.

Christian Holzhacker, Head of Education at the Association of Viennese Youth Centers, told Der Standard that it is important not to “stigmatise” an age group and that the word gang is often used in an “inflationary way”. He points out that in relation to the size of the Viennese population, the number of minors committing crimes is small, even if it is increasing.

He also highlighted that stigmatising regions or groups of young people who get together in public spaces is not the answer. “If you want to fight crime, you have to look at the realities of the lives of the people who have committed crimes,” he said.

READ ALSO: Is Vienna a safe city to visit?

What are the police doing about the crime?

Austria’s federal criminal police office has gathered a new special task force to combat youth crime (EJK). According to the Ministry of the Interior, the idea is to recognise the new phenomenon and combat youth gangs in Austria. 

The task force is set to carry out checks in public spaces, particularly in urban areas and “potential hotspots”, Kurier reported.

The task force also set up a “panel of experts” to suggest how parents can be more responsible, how children’s use of social media and cell phones can be improved, and how the asylum system can better accommodate young migrants.

However, Dieter Csefan, head of the task force, told Die Presse that most young offenders were born in Austria.

“There are unaccompanied minors, but the young people we meet in the groups and gangs usually have parents. And the prolific offenders often come from a normal home. They can also be native Austrians. So it’s not always just Afghans or Syrians”, he said.

He also mentioned that “lowering the age of criminal responsibility is one suggestion” to fight crime. Currently, the age is set at 18, but there are discussions and proposals to lower it to twelve. However, “that alone is not necessarily enough”, he added.

READ NEXT: Which parts of Austria have the highest crime rates?

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