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AUSTRIA’S PRESIDENT HAS signed a law making Covid-19 vaccination mandatory for all adults, a first in the European Union.
It applies to all adults, except pregnant women and those with a medical exemption. Those holding out can face fines of up to €3,600 after mid-March following an “introductory phase”.
President Alexander Van der Bellen signed the law after parliament approved it, his office said. It was published in the official gazette and came into force today.
Tens of thousands have demonstrated against mandatory vaccination in regular weekend rallies across the country since the measure was announced in November.
But it has broad political support – with all parties except the far-right rallying behind it – in a bid to drive up the country’s vaccination rate.
Currently, 69% of Austrian residents have certificates that they are fully protected against the coronavirus – including a booster for those whose shots were more than six months ago.
Austria has to date seen more than 14,000 Covid-related deaths and close to 2 million cases in a population of nine million.
As elsewhere, Omicron has sent cases spiralling in recent weeks, but hospitals have not been overwhelmed so far.
Compulsory vaccinations against Covid are rare though Ecuador, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Indonesia and Micronesia have introduced such schemes.
I’ve been vaccinated 3 times, love me vaccinations. But this is utter madness. Every sane persons should be against this. If you’ve ever said “my body my choice” and are for this you need to reevaluate your positions
@Pól Ó’hAodha: Assuming you’re trying to draw the comparison to the pro-choice slogan, there’s a fair difference between a woman’s choice for an abortion that will only affect her and the choice to take a vaccine, which will help others.
That said, I’m not overly fond of this choice but we’ll see how it plays out
@Pól Ó’hAodha: mandatory is not compulsory. Austrians still have a choice.
@Pól Ó’hAodha: mandatory is not compulsory. Austrians still have a choice, although one with sanctions.
@Paul Clancy: I understand where you are coming from. However, coersion usually doesn’t involve choice. A person with means to pay a fine or live with sanctions can still make a choice. Others will not have that luxury. Choice over what is put inside your body shouldn’t be a luxury awarded to only some in society and it shouldn’t be reliant on the wants and needs of others by means of coersion. I say that as someone who chose to be vacinated primarily for the good of others over what I wanted for myself.
@Paul Clancy: what tosh. Your vaccine protects you, nobody else.
@Fallout Life: I sincerely hope you’re being sarcastic. Having an abortion affects 2 ‘people’ physically & potentially many more emotionally/ mentally.
For a generally healthy person, Choosing not to take a vaccine for Covid 19, potentially reduces your risk of catching the virus and in the event you do get it, it might reduce your (small) risk of requiring hospitalisation. If you do have the virus and are vaccinated, you are slightly less likely to pass it on than an unvaccinated person but sure if the vulnerable are vaccinated then their risk of hospitalisation is greatly reduced anyway. Also, the vaccines were largely deemed useless in preventing the spread of Omicron
@Fallout Life: how does an unvaccinated person getting vaccinated help others ?
@Paul Clancy: In Texas, women have a choice as well. Stay pregnant after the first heartbeat of a baby or face a fine. In Iran, you also have a choice, when looking for a partner. Don’t take one with the same gender, or face a fine.
@Fallout Life: how does it help others?
It doesn’t prevent infection or its transmission.
Granted, vaccination and natural immunity do reduce illness severity.
Natural immunity is superior to vaccination.
0–18 yrs mortality is 0.00011%.
Lockdown reduced mortality by 0.2%, as calculated by the latest John Hopkins analysis.
Of course, that disappointing fact will remain unreported by the MSM.
Misconceptions seem to be uncorrected and even encouraged to excuse our miserable public health policy travesties.
@Dermot N Killian: it protects others because you are much likely to end up in hospital, reducing the chance of hospitals being overwhelmed, reducing the need for the crippling social effects of lockdowns , ensuring hospital beds are freed up for treatment of illness that doesn’t have a free effective vaccine.
Sanction the government and remove them from the EU until they change this terrible policy.
@Sean Murphy: “Under mandatory vaccination there is no forceful inserting of a needle in the body of someone without their voluntary informed consent; this would be a violation of someone’s right to their bodily integrity.
Contrary to what the anti-vax movement is declaring, mandatory vaccinations are not an infringement of our basic rights. One’s right to choose not to be vaccinated is being respected, although this right does not give anyone the licence to put others at risk.
From “Mandatory vaccination not the same as compulsory” Irish Times Article January 22 2022.
The EU could certainly impose sanctions if vaccinations were compulsory but no laws are broken for mandatory.
@Paul Clancy: Mandatory definition: Required by law, compulsory. You can dress it whatever way you like Austrians are being forced to get a vaccine. An appalling decision. Whats more disgusting is anyone who thinks this is acceptable.
@Franny Ando: Mate there is no point in even responding to the branch covidians, he is being intentionally dishonest. Recent developments with that pregnant reporter from New Zealand have shown that the Taliban government of Afganistan are more reasonable than these people. Just ignore them.
@Sean Murphy: comment of the day
@Paul Clancy: you’re one of the better trolls on here, using your logic, red traffic lights are not compulsory….you just have to pay the fine for driving through them, but you can still drive through them if you choose to.
@Paul Clancy: what’s the difference?
I think this is a terrible thing to happen. I’m vaccinated and have decided for me personally thats the thing to do. Thays how it should be for us all.
This is very wrong. I hope the Austrian people take to the streets.
@Dearbhla O Reilly: Streets are for useful purposes. Not for selfish protesters…..
@Dearbhla O Reilly: There was a million on the streets when this was first announced but of course mainstream media conveniently didnt cover it.
@Ruairi Colton: Moving forward you can’t have relying on coverage from the regime media to be part of your strategy. The revolution will not be televised after all. Instead we must adopt the Canadian trucker strategy, as they have shown us the way. Vienna needs to grind to a halt until this is reversed.
@Chris Gaffney: No. But they are there for educated, informed right minded people. The ones who understand its abhorrent to force others to have a medical procedure they do not want. The only selfish cohort I see are the very few who agree with this appalling decision.
@Franny Ando: Sorry but we are highly unlikely to agree on this one!
@Ruairi Colton: Million my asre, more like 10,000, show me the evidence please…
Wow. Thats nearly forced medical procedure. They haven’t moved far from their WW2 neighbours.
@Colm Vambeck: You know, that Adolf Hitler was born in Austria?
@Claudia Varell: yes
@Colm Vambeck: except it’s not because that would be illegal
@Paul Clancy: what choice will poor people that cant afford the fine have?
I struggle to find any logic in this considering we now know that vaccinated people are similarly likely to become infected and spread it to others, the virus can’t be eliminated by vaccinating the entire population so what’s the goal here?
If the reason is to help prevent hospital overcrowding then it should also be acknowledged that previous infection gives similar future protection as vaccines. The only group of people at significant risk are those unvaccinated without previous infection which may be a relatively small cohort at this point given the rampant spread of Omicron.
@Rochelle: Don’t forget the young and healthy who gain little benefit in absolute terms from vaccination or lockdown.
The unvaccinated 0–18 yrs have a C-19 mortality rate of 0.00011%. How much lower do you want the risk to go with the downside risk of myocarditis in the 1/10,000 range. The public health community’s response to the pandemic was abysmal and inexcusable.
@Dermot N Killian: the risk of myocarditis is higher if you get covid so if you are worried about myocarditis then you should get vaccinated. Also the risk of myocarditis from the vaccine or covid are incredible low and the effects are extremely mild so I really would worry about myocarditis at all.
madness…..fighting anonymous !!
GOOD.
Vacation directly affects others, not just the individual, you may choose not to maintain your motor vehicle but if it fails on the road and kills someone don’t be surprised when the state brings in laws to force people to be responsible.
@Ciaran O’Brien: ban holidays
@Ciaran O’Brien: you have to have a valid NCT on your vehicle or you will be fined and your vehicle impounded. That’s the law
@Ciaran O’Brien: “The vaccines didn’t hold up a lot of protection against getting infected with Omicron. ” – Ronan Glynn 3 days ago
The idea that being vaccinated protects those around you is a dated notion that hasn’t held up in reality. The vaccines only help protect yourself from serious illness and should be a personal choice for that reason.
@Ciaran O’Brien: The Pfizer CEO has already come out and said the jabs are not worth a fiddlers fcuk against Omnicon but he says the next 3 jabs will be 100% effective ; )
You’ve been taking for a ride by the Vax companies. Great to see so many waking up but plenty more will keep rolling up the sleeve!
@Stephen Kelly: exactly.
@Brian Burns: whoops!
@Rochelle: I think you’ve taken that quote out of context but here is a thought.
It does reduce hospitalisation? Then surly that benefits others? ICUs not stuffed with people, elective procedures cancelled for fear of a lack of resources?
@James Quinn: One world order? Illuminati? Microchips? Magnets? 5G? Lizard people? Birds aren’t real? Which flavour of conspiracy are we on here? Be honest? What is the motive? Why is everyone out to get you?
I don’t know-how it’s a cash grab, for your free vax manufactured at cost, so feel free to explain. All ears.
@Ciaran O’Brien: free?? You obviously don’t pay taxes
@Ciaran O’Brien: Why don’t u tell us how Israel are doing after its 4th jab? Surely covid cases must be low? Ud think that but they’ve had their most cases ever. The jabs are working a treat but plenty like u would rather keep their heads buried in the sand. Wakie wakie.
It’s a pandemic of the vaxxed:
https://twitter.com/Gerard39delaney/status/1489668902191869953?t=rra28yzy28Lexr3PbpeRGw&s=19
@James Quinn: So you believe that video?
It’s filmed on a phone, off a laptop, sitting on someones kitchen Island, in a different language, no idea if the subtitles are correct, on some lads twitter rather then “ALL” national health care systems the world over?
Here you go, this might be useful, maybe everyone is out to get you:
https://www.ehow.com/how_2049858_make-tinfoil-hat.html
Better safe then sorry.
@Ciaran O’Brien: you’re mistaken. Vaccination, despite wishing otherwise, does not prevent infection or transmission. Its benefit is restricted to reducing its pathogenicity. There is no avoiding transmission of respiratory viruses; however we may delude ourselves otherwise. Your neighbor is not an existential threat to your wellbeing.
@James Quinn: so the vaccine companies are being proactive in the effectiveness of the vaccines and are pursuing more effective vaccines! Why deride these efforts to fight agains the virus? Every year the flu jab is different to cope with different strains. To date the vaccines have been brilliant in reducing sickness and death. Sickening to see Facebook and Google experts always trying to give the “facts” and hear their paranoid rantings of government coverups
@Ciaran O’Brien: how many videos do u want me to post? Are u denying the facts? I can take off my tinfoil hat. Can u take the spike protein out of your body ;)
oh dear, the jabbed are getting angry!
@James Quinn: Angry? Why? I’m just saying that your source looks very, very, very weak. Sorry for the Tin hat joke. Tell you what.
Why don’t you post a link to the original, unaltered video? I’m sure it’s easy to find big news like that on the channel’s official page. It’s Channel 12 (Israel) by the way. You can then see if it’s legitimate, where it’s come from, if it’s got a political bias, etc. Data is only as good as it’s source and good data can always be verified.
Lockdowns only reduced COVID deaths by 0.2 per cent, latest Johns Hopkins study.
You can reflect on your sacrifices over the last 2 years in relation to this estimated benefit.
The ‘science’ according to the public health ‘experts’ was a fabrication. They need to be held accountable for their incompetence.
@Dermot N Killian: a deeply flawed study , a country who’s only restriction was a 5 days quarantine was treated as having a lockdown. The study ignored the effects of lockdowns on hospitalisations. The study didn’t take account of countries who had a lockdown before deaths and hospitalisations had risen.
Pity our crew wouldn’t follow suit!
@Chris Gaffney: Ok Adolph ya know where ya can go then so.
Is the state pension 65 or 66 does anyone know ?
@Noel Donohue: I got mine ladt November. 66.
@Noel Donohue: wouldn’t know, but I’m looking forward to the rubgy
have your say