Pregnant women, people for whom the vaccine poses a risk and those who have recovered from the disease are exempt.
The Austrian Parliament today approved a law that obliges those over 18 years of age residing in the country to be vaccinated against covid-19 and imposes fines of up to 3,600 euros ($4,085) for ignoring the norm, which has broad political support but has caused great polarization in the street.
The law, the first of its kind in an EU member country, was backed by 137 of the 170 deputies who participated in the vote in Parliament (with 183 seats), where only the ultra-nationalist and anti-vaccine party FPÖ opposed it en bloc.
While the deputies approved the law, hundreds of people demonstrated in the center of Vienna against the compulsory vaccination, guarded by a strong police force that blocked access to the Hofburg area, the former imperial palace that houses the seat of the Government and Parliament.
The FPÖ, which has an intention to vote of 20%, has been calling demonstrations for weeks against the measures to contain the pandemic, and last Sunday it brought together 30,000 protesters in Vienna.
Of the obligation to be vaccinated, which will come into force in February, pregnant women, people for whom the vaccine poses a risk and those who have recovered from the disease are exempt in the last 180 days.
The legal text makes it clear that the vaccine cannot “prevail through the use of force” and the punishments for economic fines, which range between 600 and 3,600 euros.
The amount of the sanctions will go to finance public hospitals.
The coalition government formed by the conservative Popular Party (OEVP) and the environmentalist Los Verdes argued last November that it was forced to make that decision due to the inability to convince enough citizens of the need to get vaccinated.
Since then, the vaccination rate has gone from 65 to the current 71% of the population.
The Executive has managed to overcome the initial reluctance of the social democratic and liberal opposition, whose deputies voted today in favor of the law.
In the process of drafting the law, important points were modified, such as the one that raised the compulsory age of vaccination from 14 to 18 years.
According to the latest polls, only 45% of the population supports that the law enters into force in February, while another 17% prefer to delay its application and another 34% are totally opposed to the norm. (I)
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