BREAKING: Austria plans to lockdown unvaccinated on Sunday
Updated
By Jefferey Jaxen
Reuters is now reporting that Austria’s government is likely to decide on Sunday to impose a lockdown on people who are not fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Austrians have taken to the streets immediately in protest of the coming measures:
Last week, the Austrian government announced that unvaccinated people in Austria who also haven’t had COVID-19 would no longer be allowed to enter restaurants, hotels or attend public events larger than 25 people under new rules.
Previously, people could enter restaurants, hotels and other areas if they were vaccinated, had recovered from the virus or could show results from a negative test.
Now, starting Monday Austria will be implementing a lockdown for unvaccinated people in the regions of Upper Austria and Salzburg. Residents there will only be allowed to leave their homes for specific reasons, such as buying groceries or going to the doctor according to the government. Austria Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said he and regional leaders will meet again this Sunday to mull over similar measures nationwide.
Following a successful vaccine rollout in Austria, which started on December 27, 2020 COVID, cases are surging to all-time highs.
According to Reuters data, Austria has administered at least 12,046,984 doses of COVID vaccines so far. Assuming every person needs 2 doses, that’s enough to have vaccinated about 67.9% of the country’s population. However, it is now well established that the vaccine neither stopes transmission of the virus or infection.
A recent Swedish total-population cohort study detected zero effectiveness of both the Pfizer and J&J COVID shots, both approved for use in Austria, by day 211 and day 121 respectively. In addition the study found that vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic Covid-19 infection wanes progressively over time across all subgroups and faster for men and older frail individuals.
Facing the limited efficacy of the initial vaccine program, Austria’s Green Pass Certificate [vaccine passport] will now expire in nine months rather than 12 the government has stated – unless extended by a booster shot.
What is not clear at the moment is what percentage of compliance the regional venues and business are adhering to or enforcing Austria’s vaccine [Green Pass] passport. Or how the country will respond to such extreme lockdown measures threatening adherence to a pharmaceutical product with mounting risks being discovered.
A recent sampled online survey with 1007 Austrians found only 46.2% trusted the Austrian government to provide safe vaccines, and 80.7% requested independent scientific evaluations regarding vaccine safety to increase willingness to vaccine.
As an early adopter of vaccine certificates in America, it was recently found that approximately two in five New York City restaurants, gyms, and entertainment venues weren’t fully abiding by the city’s COVID-19 vaccination pass mandate when first inspected reports he Epoch Times.
Despite the overreaching government measures, vaccines are not mandatory in Austria. In France, a recent Senate Bill proposed to make the COVID-19 shot mandatory for all citizens was shot down 262 votes against with just 64 in favor. We prefer to convince than to force”, said France’s Adrien Taquet, Secretary of State for Children and the Family during the vote.
A French doctor, Senator Alain Milon, said at the time “It would be better to align it with the model of vaccination against influenza, which is not mandatory but strongly recommended for vulnerable people. States must ensure that citizens are not subjected to political, social or other pressures to be vaccinated ”.
FIND YOUR TRIBE! Connect with other HighWire Insiders on the Community Page at THEHIGHWIRE.COM/COMMUNITY
