Global overview of the obligation to get vaccinated against COVID-19

Although in more and more countries a certificate of anti-COVID vaccine is imposed for certain categories, few governments in the world order mandatory vaccination for the entire adult population, as Austria announced this Friday for February 1, 2022.

This is the panorama, not exhaustive, of the obligation of the anti-COVID immunizer in the world:

Mandatory for all adults – an exception

Very few countries impose vaccination on their entire adult population. This is the case of two authoritarian states in Central Asia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, one of the rare countries that did not declare any official contagion of COVID-19.

The COVID vaccine is also mandatory in Indonesia, but only in theory, because in reality there are missing doses. In the Vatican, a note from February 2021 made immunization imperative for all the inhabitants and workers of the smallest country in the world.

Obligation for certain categories

Multiple countries have mandated that certain professional categories have to be vaccinated.

In the United States, President Joe Biden announced on September 9 the mandatory vaccination for some 100 million workers, federal government officials and private sector employees. But justice suspended on November 6 the new protocol for workers in companies with more than 100 employees.

In France, it applies to staff in hospitals, nursing homes, firefighters, ambulance drivers and domestic caregivers.

Also in Greece and Italy the vaccine is compulsory for nursing home workers and health personnel.

In England, senior center employees must be fully vaccinated before mid-November and public health workers from April 2022.

In Latvia, companies can impose “unpaid forced vacation”To unvaccinated workers and then fire them after three months. Politicians who are not immunized will be suspended from their duties and retributions until they do so.

Hungary, where the vaccine is already mandatory for healthcare workers, paved the way in October to make it mandatory for employees and civil servants as well.

By contrast, in Slovenia, the decree binding public sector workers was suspended by the Constitutional Court in September.

In Equatorial Guinea, all officials, students and anyone who physically carries out a procedure in the administration must be vaccinated.

Obligations imposed by companies

There are more and more large companies that impose a vaccination certificate on all or part of their employees.

In the United States, this is the case of the CVS pharmacies, the oil company Chevron, Disney or the Goldman Sachs bank.

In Australia, the airline Qantas has ordered all its personnel to be vaccinated.

It is not mandatory but almost

In some countries, the vaccine is not mandatory but the restrictions for those who are not immunized are very dissuasive.

In the Dominican Republic, from October 18 it is necessary to be vaccinated to enter all closed places and to use public transport.

Also in Saudi Arabia, it is mandatory to enter public and private establishments, and for transportation.

And in Italy, school and university staff, as well as students, have to present a negative test every two days if they are not vaccinated.