Austria’s mandatory Covid vaccine plan ignores the lessons of history

Austria is to become the first European country to make vaccinations against Covid-19 mandatory. A general vaccine mandate will come into effect on 1 February 2022, with exemptions permitted on medical grounds. 

The country has the lowest vaccination rate in western Europe, with just 66 per cent of its population fully vaccinated. The Government has tried to encourage uptake with mandatory vaccine passports at restaurants and bars, and by announcing a lockdown specifically for those unvaccinated. 

The proposal has been met with substantial opposition, partly fuelled by the far-right Freedom Party. But over the weekend, 40,000 people protested in the streets of Austria, including many unaffiliated to the right-wing extremists. Opposition has been framed in terms of medical ethics, bodily autonomy, and resistance to an overly-interventionist state power.