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COVID-19 VACCINES

Austria formally scraps mandatory Covid vaccination law

Just months after announcing mandatory nationwide Covid vaccinations under threats of financial penalties, Austria has unanimously decided to scrap the law.

A man waits to be vaccinated at a vaccine centre in Vienna, Austria. Photo: Joe Klamar/AFP

Austria’s National Council unanimously decided to repeal the vaccination obligation law and associated regulations, the Parliament said on Thursday. 

In making the announcement, the ÖVP and Greens coalition stated that the lifting is in no way intended to reduce the relevance of the vaccination’s contribution to managing the pandemic, particularly concerning lowering the impact of severe courses of the disease. 

They continue to incentivise people to get the vaccines, but now there is no legal obligation.

End of the road for controversial mandate

The controversial measure was announced late in 2021 and had been put into effect in February, with penalties for non-compliance to be introduced in March. 

The laws included a set of regulations allowing police to check people’s vaccinated status. Those that could not prove they were either vaccinated, or recently recovered from the disease, would have to pay a fine.

Before these penalties were introduced however, the law was suspended until August. 

At the time, the government said the suspension was due to the combined impact of the lower virulence of the Omicron variant and the impact of widespread vaccination coverage across the country. 

“The omicron variant changed the situation”, health minister Johannes Rauch (Greens) said at the time. 

He added that the law was introduced in a different context and was supported by “a clear majority” at the time when hospitals were full and “intensive care units were on the limit”.

The minister said that the new variant has reduced the effectiveness of vaccination against infections and has caused less severe courses of the disease.

“Even people who are willing to vaccinate in principle are now more difficult to convince of the need for a third dose”.

Rauch said the obligation to vaccinate did not increase the take up of the Covid jab. Instead, it “opened deep trenches in Austrian society”, according to the minister.

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COVID-19 RULES

Vienna to drop Covid face mask mandate by end of February

The Austrian capital Vienna will no longer require people to wear face masks on public transport after its Covid-19 decree expires at the end of February. Here's everything else that is changing.

Vienna to drop Covid face mask mandate by end of February

The FFP2 mask mandate currently in place in all Vienna public transport and its stations will fall on February 28th, the city’s mayor Michael Ludwig (SPÖ), said in a press conference on Wednesday.

“After considering all aspects and the epidemiological situation, the hospital situation and current model calculations, it is now justifiable not to extend the special corona regulations for Vienna after February”, the mayor said.

For several months, the Austrian capital has been the only province with a strict FFP2 mask mandate in public transport, as the city decided to keep stricter rules against the coronavirus pandemic. 

However, earlier this month, Health Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens) announced that the country would drop all Covid restrictions by the end of June. Vienna could have kept its regulations until the end of July when the Covid Measures Act, which allowed provinces to opt for stricter guidelines, expires. 

The mayor also announced that other measures valid only in Vienna would expire by the end of February. The stricter rules for visitors in hospitals and elderly homes, who had to present a negative PCR test, will also fall. Additionally, employees at these establishments will no longer have to go through a weekly screening for Covid-19. 

READ ALSO: Austria to drop all Covid restrictions by the end of June

However, the obligation to wear masks in hospitals and nursing homes would end only on April 30th, as it is a federal determination.

“A special thank you goes to all employees in the health system. Mainly thanks to them, Vienna passed the test and prevented conditions like those in other countries”, Ludwig said.

According to the mayor, the goal now is to continue to expand the healthcare system and keep its high level. “In this way, everyone will continue to have the best possible medical care in the future”, he added.

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