Austria's lower house of parliament passed a bill on Thursday making COVID-19 vaccinations compulsory for adults as of Feb. 1, bringing Austria closer to introducing the first such sweeping coronavirus vaccine mandate in the European Union.
The bill must now pass the upper house and be signed by President Alexander Van der Bellen, steps which will be largely formalities.Roughly 72% of Austria's population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, one of the lowest rates in western Europe. After a fourth national lockdown ended last month, the extremely contagious Omicron variant has pushed infections to record levels but the government wants to avoid another lockdown.
Many lawmakers from her party and the liberal Neos backed the bill, joining the government coalition of conservatives and Greens, meaning it cleared its main hurdle easily with 137 votes for to 33 against. Italy has made COVID-19 vaccinations compulsory for those aged 50 and older, while Greece has done the same for over-60s, and various European countries have done so for some professions like medical staff.
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