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An overwhelming majority of Austrian MPs voted on Thursday to force their citizens to get vaccinated against Covid-19, with those who refuse facing fines of up to 3,600 euros ($4,000).
After 137 MPs voted for compulsory vaccination and only 33 opposed, the bill now heads to the upper house to be debated and approved. As Austria's governing parties - a coalition of the center-right People's Party and the Greens - hold a majority in this chamber, its passage is virtually guaranteed.
The right-wing Freedom Party was the only party to oppose the mandate in parliament.
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The law will empower authorities to keep a database of every citizen's vaccination status and the expiry date of said status, which can be searched by officials. The law is to remain in place until 2024.
Compulsory vaccination was first proposed by the Austrian government back in November, and the announcement triggered mass protests. At the time, Austria had one of the lowest vaccination rates in Europe, which has since climbed to above the EU average. At present, just over 70% of Austrians are fully vaccinated, according to figures from the World Health Organization.


Comment: Re: Medvin's previous ban, see: Town Hall senior columnist banned from Twitter after criticizing Biden