Czech Republic scraps vaccine mandate as daily cases hit record high | The Independent - William Nattrass:
Jan. 20, 2022 - "The Czech Republic’s new government has scrapped a decree making Covid vaccines mandatory for over-60s and key workers in some professions, with the country’s health minister describing the previous administration’s plan as 'nonsense from the start'. The mandate – which was supposed to come into effect in March for the elderly as well as health and care workers, police officers and firefighters – was dismissed by Prime Minister Petr Fiala’s new centre-right government.... 'We see no reason for compulsory vaccination' ... Mr Fiala said at a press conference on Wednesday. However, he emphasised that the government still considered vaccines as 'the best way to fight Covid'.
"Coalition members of the five-party government had opposed the vaccine mandate ever since it was introduced in December in the twilight days of the previous regime led by Andrej Babis. The plan sparked protests in Prague and elsewhere in the country. The 'Open Czechia' protest organization ran a petition claiming that 'instead of relevant expert information allowing citizens to make their own decision, the government is forcing us to be vaccinated through tools of corruption and extortion!' About 63 per cent of Czechs are fully vaccinated, below the European Union average, according [to]the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control....
"'The mandate was not defined well, so from this perspective we are happy that it will be cancelled,' said Jiří Horecký, president of the Association of Social Service Providers, which advocates for the rights of social workers. 'The group of people obliged to be vaccinated was unclear, the explanatory report was not up to date, and there were no exceptions for people who already had Covid,” he told The Independent.
"The country’s health minister Vlastimil Válek said the government had delivered on its promise to revoke the vaccine mandate. 'I considered mandatory Covid 19 vaccination nonsense from the start,' he said on Twitter....
"The government announced that asymptomatic key healthcare and social workers who test positive for Covid may be allowed to continue working to keep services running. Companies want the list to be extended, while cabinet members are pushing for the so-called “working quarantine” to apply to other key workers including firefighters, police officers, and transport staff. Mr Fiala’s administration has also shortened quarantine and isolation times, while launching mandatory testing of employees at companies from this week."
Read more: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/czech-republic-repeals-vaccine-mandate-b1996991.html
Austria parliament approves mandatory Covid vaccination | France 24 - Alex Halada:
January 20, 2022 - "Austria's parliament on Thursday approved making Covid-19 vaccinations mandatory for adults from next month, becoming the first European country to do so despite a wave of protests opposing the measure. Tens of thousands have demonstrated against mandatory vaccination in regular weekend rallies since the measure was announced in November in a bid to drive up the country's vaccination rate. But all parties, except the far-right, supported the measure, with the new legislation passing with 137 votes in favour and 33 votes against it....
"To date 72 percent of Austrian residents have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus – in line with the European Union-wide average of just more than 70 percent....
"Under the new law, after an initial "introductory phase" those holding out against the jab can face fines of up to 3,600 euros ($4,084) from mid-March. The government initially wanted to cover everyone aged 14 and older, but now the measure only applies to adults, except pregnant women and those with a medical exemption.
"The only significant opposition came from the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe), which has courted anti-vaccination voters. FPOe leader Herbert Kickl railed against the law in Thursday's charged parliamentary debate, claiming it 'paves the way to totalitarianism in Austria'. He vowed that he himself would continue to refuse vaccination in defiance of the new law."
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