Covid-19 in Austria: Half of the Population is Vaccinated
Half of the vaccine-eligible Austrian population has received its first Covid-19 vaccination. This number corresponds to about 4 million people, while close to 2 million people have already received full immunization.
Austria's Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein is delighted about the fact that half of the vaccine-eligible population in Austria has received its first Covid-19 vaccination. / Picture: © Bundeskanzleramt (BKA) / Dragan Tatic
As of June 8, close to 4,000,000 people in Austria have received their first vaccination dose against the Covid-19 virus.
"Vaccinations are the way back to our usual lives. We have already been able to provide protective vaccination to half of the vaccine-eligible population. This brings a further relaxation of the infection situation in Austria and also makes further relaxations possible. It is important that so many people have already taken this step," says a delighted Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein, according to a press release by the Austrian Health Ministry.
"A big thank you to all the staff in the vaccination lines of the provinces and companies, as well as to all the doctors and mobile vaccination teams out there who make this important progress in vaccination possible," the Health Minister thanked.
A total of 5,714,006 vaccinations have already been carried out in Austria since the start of Covid-19 vaccination and entered into the electronic vaccination record. With the addition of 12- to 15-year-olds to the vaccine-eligible population in Austria, this group currently includes a total of 7,872,174 people.
The steady increase in vaccine doses delivered in recent weeks and months has increased the 7-day vaccination rate from an average of 48,000 vaccinations per day in early May to more than 80,000 vaccinations today in early June. Currently, a Covid-19 vaccination is delivered in Austria approximately every 1.1 seconds.
The Ministry of Health has also announced the introduction of the Austrian Green Passport for this week. However, in the first days, only the test results and recovery proof will be part of the Green Passport. An extension, which includes the digital vaccination certificate, will be implemented shortly after.
The Austrian Green Passport aims to make life easier for people who are tested, have recovered or are vaccinated. By July, the Green Passport will also be implemented in the European system, which should make travel across EU countries much easier.