Free Membership
Newsletter
Help
Subscribe
Sign In
Search
April 1, 2023
All times are Vienna time
Search
Subscribe
Sign In
Countries:
Africa »
Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burundi Côte d'Ivoire Ethiopia Ghana Guinea Kenya Lesotho Liberia Libya Mali Mauritius Morocco Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Rwanda South Africa Sudan Tanzania The Congo Togo Tunisia Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe
Asia-Pacific »
Afghanistan Australia Bangladesh Cambodia China Hong Kong SAR India Indonesia Japan Laos Malaysia Mongolia Myanmar Nepal New Zealand North Korea (DPRK) Pakistan Philippines Singapore South Korea Sri Lanka Taiwan Thailand Vietnam
Central- & Eastern Europe »
Albania Bosnia & Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Czech Rep. Estonia Georgia Hungary Kosovo Latvia Lithuania North Macedonia Montenegro Poland Romania Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Ukraine Western Balkans
Middle East »
Egypt Iran Iraq Israel Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Oman Palestinian Territories Qatar Saudi Arabia Syria Turkey United Arab Emirates Yemen
Russia & CIS »
Russia Armenia Azerbaijan Belarus Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Moldova Turkmenistan Uzbekistan
The Americas »
Argentina Bolivia Brazil Canada Central America Chile Colombia Cuba Ecuador Mexico Panama Paraguay Peru The Caribbean Uruguay Venezuela
United States
Western Europe »
Belgium Cyprus Denmark Finland France Germany Greece Iceland Ireland Italy Liechtenstein Luxembourg Malta Monaco Norway Portugal Scotland Spain Sweden Switzerland The Netherlands United Kingdom Vatican City
Business:
Economy
Economic Policies
Investing in Austria
Securities
Earnings
Foreign Trade
Deals
Legal Issues
More Business & Economics+
Politics:
Domestic
Brussels
International
Diplomacy
Companies:
Professional Services »
Banks Financial Services Real Estate Insurance Other Services
Energy »
Oil & Gas Utilities Renewables Mining
Industrials »
Construction Automotive Industrial Goods Basic Resources Chemicals Other Industrials
Transport »
Airlines & Airports Shipping Rail Road
Retail & Consumer
Health Care
Technology
Telecoms
Media
Tourism
Other
Organizations:
Diplomatic Missions
International Organizations
Other
People:
Executives
Politicians
Diplomats
Entrepreneurs
Other
Lifestyle & Travel:
Culture
Travel
Personal Real Estate
Health
Food & Drink
Luxury Goods
More+
More+:
Events
Photo Galleries
Videos
Classifieds
Work & Careers
More+
Home
Countries
Business
Politics
Diplomacy
Companies
Organizations
People
Lifestyle & Travel
More+
Africa
Algeria
Angola
Benin
Botswana
Burundi
Côte d'Ivoire
Ethiopia
Ghana
Guinea
Kenya
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Mali
Mauritius
Morocco
Mozambique
Namibia
Niger
Nigeria
Rwanda
South Africa
Sudan
Tanzania
The Congo
Togo
Tunisia
Uganda
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Asia-Pacific
Afghanistan
Australia
Bangladesh
Cambodia
China
Hong Kong SAR
India
Indonesia
Japan
Laos
Malaysia
Mongolia
Myanmar
Nepal
New Zealand
North Korea (DPRK)
Pakistan
Philippines
Singapore
South Korea
Sri Lanka
Taiwan
Thailand
Vietnam
Central- & Eastern Europe
Albania
Bosnia & Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Croatia
Czech Rep.
Estonia
Georgia
Hungary
Kosovo
Latvia
Lithuania
North Macedonia
Montenegro
Poland
Romania
Serbia
Slovakia
Slovenia
Ukraine
Western Balkans
Middle East
Egypt
Iran
Iraq
Israel
Jordan
Kuwait
Lebanon
Oman
Palestinian Territories
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Syria
Turkey
United Arab Emirates
Yemen
Russia & CIS
Russia
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Kazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan
Moldova
Turkmenistan
Uzbekistan
The Americas
Argentina
Bolivia
Brazil
Canada
Central America
Chile
Colombia
Cuba
Ecuador
Mexico
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
The Caribbean
Uruguay
Venezuela
United States
Western Europe
Belgium
Cyprus
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Liechtenstein
Luxembourg
Malta
Monaco
Norway
Portugal
Scotland
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
The Netherlands
United Kingdom
Vatican City
Economy
Economic Policies
Investing in Austria
Securities
Earnings
Foreign Trade
Deals
Legal Issues
More Business & Economics+
Domestic
Brussels
International
Professional Services
Banks
Financial Services
Real Estate
Insurance
Other Services
Energy
Oil & Gas
Utilities
Renewables
Mining
Industrials
Construction
Automotive
Industrial Goods
Basic Resources
Chemicals
Other Industrials
Transport
Airlines & Airports
Shipping
Rail
Road
Retail & Consumer
Health Care
Technology
Telecoms
Media
Tourism
Other
Diplomatic Missions
International Organizations
Other
Executives
Politicians
Diplomats
Entrepreneurs
Other
Culture
Travel
Personal Real Estate
Health
Food & Drink
Luxury Goods
More+
Events
Photo Galleries
Videos
Classifieds
Work & Careers
More+
Latest News
Ukrainian War
Covid in Austria
USA in Vienna
UK in Vienna
Russia in Vienna
China in Vienna
Iran in Vienna
UN
OSCE
IAEA
OPEC
Sponsored Content
Tweet
Share

Explained: Compulsory Covid Vaccination for All in Austria as of February 2022

Lifestyle & Travel › Health ♦ Published: November 25, 2021; 15:27 ♦ (Vindobona)
Sponsored Content

The Austrian government has announced that vaccination against COVID-19 will be mandatory as early as February 2022. Learn more about the new law and what it means for people in Austria.

Austrian Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg: "I and others have assumed that it must be possible to convince people in Austria to get vaccinated voluntarily. But we have to face reality." / Picture: © Bundeskanzleramt (BKA) / Dragan Tatic

Austria has become one of the only countries in the world to announce that vaccination against COVID-19 will be mandatory.

Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg and Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein both said that they initially did not want to make vaccination compulsory, but they argue that the low vaccination rate and increased hospitalizations have left them with no alternative.

“For a long time, perhaps too long, I and others have assumed that it must be possible to convince people in Austria to get vaccinated voluntarily, for their own protection and the protection of their fellow human beings. But we have to face reality,” said Schallenberg.

Sponsored Content

However, this announcement of a vaccine mandate has left many with questions about how it will work.

Deadline

The government announced a deadline for mandatory vaccination could be as early as 1 February 2022.

While the law is still in the works, this is the tentative date by which everyone must be vaccinated or face penalties.

Exceptions

Naturally, the government has announced that there will likely be exceptions in certain cases.

People who cannot be vaccinated without endangering their life or health will almost certainly be exempt from the mandate. However, this must be proven with an official medical certificate.

Pregnant women are also likely to be exempt from the mandate.

People who were infected and have recovered from the virus might be exempt for a certain period, which the law will specify, but the mandate will apply to them after this time has passed.

It remains unknown from what age the mandate will apply, especially since children of certain ages are still only able to be vaccinated off-label. However, many expect that, once the vaccine is officially approved for children, the mandate will apply to them as well.

Sponsored Content

Another unknown is whether the mandate will only apply to Austrian citizens or foreign residents and tourists as well.

Enforcement and penalties

The question of how to find the unvaccinated and enforce the law is still open to debate, but some experts have speculated that the government may either send letters to all the unvaccinated with a deadline, allow for spot-checks by police, hold employers accountable for unvaccinated employees, or some combination of these.

The government has announced that those who are not vaccinated and do not have a legitimate exception will face administrative penalties.

The fines are estimated at up to € 3,600 for failing to be fully vaccinated and up to € 1,450 for refusing to get a booster vaccination.

Legality

Some people, including Freedom Party Leader Herbert Kickl, have questioned the legality of compulsory vaccination.

However, Schallenberg and Mückstein have made it clear that the constitutionality of the law was previously discussed with constitutional lawyers, and they have been told that the mandate is acceptable under the constitution.

It must be noted that the chancellor and health minister both said that the law is still in the process of being written, and the details of the requirement will be worked out in the coming weeks.

Austrian Federal Chancellery

Sponsored Content
Copyright © Vindobona. You may share using our article tools. Please don't cut articles from Vindobona and redistribute by email or post to the web.
Sponsored Content
Fast News Search
Related News
Air Travel to Austria: How Does Entry Work During the Fourth Lockdown? (November 25, 2021)
Edtstadler at General Affairs Council: Mandatory Vaccination is Necessary (November 24, 2021)
Full Lockdown in Austria: These Rules Apply from November 22 to December 12, 2021, Inclusive (November 23, 2021)
Read More
Wolfgang Mueckstein, Vaccines, Law, Herbert Kickl, Healthcare Policy, Health Policy, Health Industry, FPOE, Federal Chancellery of Austria, COVID-19, Coronavirus, Alexander Schallenberg, 2019-nCov
Featured
See latest Vindobona Newsletter
Sign up now for full site access and to read a limited amount of free premium articles per month:
Sign Up
×
Sponsored Content
Sponsored Content
©1995-2023 Vindobona
Contact
Help
Imprint
Press
Careers
Partners
Terms & Conditions
Site Security
Privacy
Sitemap
Advertise
About Us