Austrian Compulsory Vaccination Bill Provides for Fines of up to 7,200 Euros
Compulsory vaccination is to apply to everyone who has a residence or habitual abode in Austria and is over the age of 12. Those who do not comply with the vaccination obligation can be summoned. If they also fail to appear at a follow-up appointment, the draft law provides for penalties of up to 3,600 euros or four weeks' imprisonment. Who gets already punished for the second time, must pay 7,200 euros. The details below.
Compulsory Vaccination Bill: In the draft it is to be stated however that nobody can be brought forward compulsorily to the vaccination. / Picture: © Bundeskanzleramt (BKA) / Dragan Tatic
The daily newspaper "Die Presse" obtained the first draft for a mandatory vaccination in Austria. The law is to apply from February 1, 2022 and provides for penalties of up to 7,200 euros. Before being punished, however, one is to receive two summonses by the authorities.
Because tomorrow in the Chancellor's Office a round table on the topic takes place, and the draft will still be discussed, the draft to be decided could therefore still bring changes. The draft should be ready no later than December 6 and then be submitted for four weeks for review.
According to the initial draft, compulsory vaccination is to apply in any case to everyone who has a residence or habitual abode in Austria and is over 12 years of age.
According to the working paper, there should be exceptions for people who cannot be vaccinated without risk to life or health.
This must be confirmed by a public health officer or the health insurance fund. Pregnant women are to be partially exempted.
Those who do not comply with the vaccination requirement are to be summoned for vaccination by the district administrative authority (Bezirksverwaltungsbehörde). Then one has four weeks time, until one gets again a date.
If one does not follow this either, the bill provides for penalties of up to 3,600 euros or four weeks' imprisonment.
Who is already being punished for the second time, must pay 7,200 euros. In the draft it is to be stated however that nobody can be brought forward compulsorily to the vaccination.
Booster vaccinations are also to be covered by the vaccination obligation.
The Minister of Health is to regulate the required intervals in a decree. This will also define who is considered to have recovered.
According to the draft, the data on the unvaccinated will come from the ELGA health record and the central vaccination register.
Deregistration from ELGA should not change anything, as it is only a matter of names and addresses. According to the first draft, which is in the hands of the newspaper "Die Presse", the law is to be limited to three years.
Update Nov. 30, 2021: Meanwhile the Federal Chancellery issued a clarification from the federal government on the circulated draft on compulsory vaccination, stating that it would not be "a draft of the federal government" and that the above-mentioned points, among others, are among the main open questions that still need to be clarified.