Austria proposes to impose a €7,000 fine for refusing to vaccinate

The Austrian authorities have prepared a bill according to which those residents of the country who refuse mandatory vaccination against coronavirus will have to pay a fine of up to €7.2 thousand, writes Kronen Zeitung.

According to the newspaper, in the event of the first refusal of vaccination against COVID-19 , an Austrian resident will be summoned to the district administrative body. If a person ignores this invitation, then after four weeks he will be called again. For the third refusal to vaccinate, a person faces a fine of € 3.6 thousand or imprisonment for four weeks. With subsequent refusals, the fine may increase to €7.2 thousand, the newspaper claims.

Kronen Zeitung notes that the bill will be finalized. According to preliminary data, if adopted, the law will come into force in February 2022 and will be valid for three years.

Austrian Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said that from February next year, mandatory vaccination against COVID-19 will be introduced in Austria. He explained this decision by the fact that the voluntary vaccination program was thwarted by opponents of vaccinations. “There are too many political forces, opponents of vaccination and fake news in our country that incite too many people to refuse vaccination. Therefore, the decision was made to introduce universal mandatory vaccination from February 1, 2022,” Schallenberg said. He also mentioned that an administrative penalty would be imposed for refusing to be vaccinated. An exception will be made only for those who have medical contraindications.