VIENNA - Austria's parliament on Thursday approved making Covid-19 vaccinations mandatory for adults from next month, becoming the first European country to do so despite a wave of protests opposing the measure.in regular weekend rallies since the measure was announced in November in a bid to drive up the country's vaccination rate.
All parties, except the far-right, supported the measure, with the new legislation passing with 137 votes in favour and 33 votes against it in the 183-seat parliament.To date, 72 per cent of Austrian residents have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus - in line with the European Union-wide average of just more than 70 per cent, but several percentage points below regional neighbours such as Italy and France.
Under the new law, which takes effect on Feb 4, those holding out against the jab can face fines of up to €3,600 from mid-March after an initial"introductory phase".except pregnant women and those with a medical exemption.The overwhelming majority of MPs from all parties voted in favour of the law, with the leaders of the opposition Social Democrats and the liberal NEOS lending their backing to the centre right-green coalition.
The only significant opposition came from the far-right Freedom Party , which has courted anti-vaccination voters. FPOe leader Herbert Kickl railed against the law in the charged parliamentary debate on Thursday, claiming it"paves the way to totalitarianism in Austria"."Vaccination is an opportunity for our society to achieve lasting and continuous freedom, because the virus cannot restrict us any further," centre-right Chancellor Karl Nehammer told reporters earlier ahead of the debate.
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