People repeatedly snubbing Covid-19 vaccination summons in Austria after immunization becomes compulsory there might face fines of up to $8,100 or several weeks behind bars, according to a draft that was leaked to the media.
Those resisting vaccination in Austria might soon face stiff punishments, according to a leaked draft of the so-called Covid-19 Vaccination Protection Act seen by the Austrian Die Presse daily. If passed, the legislation, which is set to take effect in February, would apply both to the Alpine nation’s citizens and its permanent residents.
Under the bill, anyone who refused to attend a scheduled vaccination appointment would receive an official summons from local authorities. If an individual failed to show up, they would then be summoned one more time within the next four weeks.
Should the second official request be ignored as well, the person would face a fine of €3,600 ($4,061) or four weeks in prison. The fine would increase to €7,200 ($8,000) for those who had already been fined twice for violating the vaccination requirement.
Exceptions are only allowed for those who cannot get a jab due to “a danger to life or health” as well as pregnant women and children up to the age of 12. The bill further says that booster shots would be compulsory. The Health Ministry is tasked with regulating intervals between vaccinations and possible vaccine combinations, according to the draft.
The government would also decide who was considered “vaccinated” and whether people who have recovered from Covid-19 should be counted as “vaccinated” as well. Still, no one would be “forcibly brought” to a vaccination center or made to get a jab against their will, Die Presse reported.
The text of the bill, which will be discussed at the chancellor’s office on Tuesday, might still change, the Austrian media notes. If passed, the legislation is reportedly expected to stay in force for at least three years.
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Publisher Merriam-Webster, which is particularly well-known for its dictionaries, has declared “vaccine” as its word of the year, noting how the medical solution has become a political argument and source of division.
In a publication on Monday, Merriam-Webster said that the number of people looking up the word “vaccine” had increased 1,048% in 2021, compared to 2019 as the publishing group declared it as the word of the year.
The publishing firm said that words can become vehicles for ideological conflict, and that’s exactly what has happened with the word “vaccine.” They claimed that the “promising medical solution” which brought the promise of ending the pandemic that upended everyone’s lives had become “a political argument and source of division.”
“The biggest science story of our time quickly became the biggest debate in our country, and the word at the center of both stories is vaccine,” the Merriam-Webster group wrote.
The American firm also noted that the development of a new type of vaccine, mRNA jabs, prompted the company to change its definition of the word in May. The main description now reads: “a preparation that is administered (as by injection) to stimulate the body’s immune response against a specific infectious agent or disease.” Further text then describes conventional vaccine technology and the mRNA vaccines.
The publisher’s 2020 word of the year was “pandemic,” as the Covid-19 pandemic saw countries around the globe sent into lockdown in an effort to prevent its spread.
The Oxford English Dictionary’s publishers selected “vax” as its word of the year earlier in November.
