“We now have to live with the Covid.” The Austrian government announced on Thursday June 23 the total abandonment of its compulsory vaccination policy against Covid-19. “We will therefore implement a series of measures, which means the end of compulsory vaccination”said Minister of Health Johannes Rauch, at a press conference in Vienna.
This law is not judged by the commission of experts “necessary whether from a medical or constitutional point of view”and created “a deep division within Austrian society”, explained Johannes Rauch. The strategy “was set up in a different context”with overcrowded hospital units, he pointed out. “But the Omicron variant changed the rulesadded the environmental minister. Even those who had agreed to be vaccinated are now reluctant to be given another dose.”
The text entered into force on February 5, an unprecedented measure in the European Union (EU) and which had aroused strong opposition from part of the population of 9 million inhabitants. All residents over the age of 18 were affected, with the exception of pregnant women, those who contracted the virus less than 180 days ago and finally those who can be exempted for medical reasons. Finally, the government had decided to suspend the application of the law in the face of the slightest danger of the Omicron variant.