Making COVID-19 vaccines mandatory was once unthinkable. But European countries are showing it can work

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Europe is considering a step once unthinkable among Western democracies: Making COVID-19 vaccinations compulsory for the entire bloc.

Until now, governments around the world had rejected the idea of a universal coronavirus vaccine mandate, opting instead for incentives and other"nudges" to motivate people to get shots. Even in authoritarian states, like China, it is not mandatory policy.

It is that irony that has drawn the ire of Europe's leaders, who are growing increasingly frustrated by vaccine skeptics and other pockets of the population still resisting Covid-19 vaccination programs. Days after his country's scientists first reported the existence of the Omicron variant, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that authorities were looking into whether to mandate Covid-19 vaccinations — and booster shots — for workers and for entry to some public spaces. Kenya was one of the first African nations to introduce restrictions on the unvaccinated last week.

But just as lockdowns have become a part of pandemic life, the rapidly emerging view in Europe is that vaccine mandates are not just plausible — they could pay off. Rules in France, Italy and now Austria provide a window into what to expect. As Austria's vaccine mandate has sent tens of thousands of people onto the streets in protests, many more have gone to vaccination centers."I gave into the government's blackmail. I wanted to wait, but the government had other plans for me," Jaruslav, who would only give his first name, told CNN as he was getting his first shot at Austria's largest vaccine center in Vienna.

Hale and his colleagues are in the process of adding data on Covid vaccine mandates to their tracker with the aim of answering the big question: Do they work? Of more than 180 countries that the Blavatnik School of Government tracks, Hale said a few stood out for having effective mandates: France, Israel, China and Brazil.

"There's an optimist story to be told that, for the vast majority of people, this is not actually that controversial. There's a lot of focus on the resisters, and rightly so. But it's quite a lot of movement in the right direction," Hale said. A June study out of Israel revealed that while vaccines still offer strong protection against severe Covid-19, their effectiveness in fighting the virus wanes over time, accelerating the need for third booster shots. It has since reinstated its Green Pass, and is mandating a third dose for its renewal.

 

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