Prognosis

Austria Starts Criminalizing Vaccine Holdouts in Divisive Gamble

  • Law imposes hefty fines on people who refuse inoculation
  • Controversial policy is a big risk for new chancellor
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Austria is embarking on a dramatic public health experiment from Tuesday, with a controversial new law that makes Covid-19 vaccines mandatory for everyone.

Multiple European countries have stigmatized people who refuse a vaccine, but Chancellor Karl Nehammer’s government is going further and will start criminalizing holdouts.