Austria Is a New Front in Europe’s Fight Against Covid
Placing more restrictions on the unvaccinated looks justified, but governments shouldn’t dodge their own duty of care.
Intensive care units are filling up.
Photographer: Barbara Gindl/AFP
Winter is drawing in, Covid-19 cases are rebounding and European Union countries with middling vaccination rates are tightening the screws.
What began as an arm-twist in July, when France’s Emmanuel Macron rolled out a mobile health pass to control access to leisure venues, has become a headlock. In Austria, where intensive-care wards are filling up and 64% of the population is fully vaccinated (below the EU average), the government is implementing new restrictions, including what’s effectively a lockdown for those refusing to get their remaining jabs. Latvia has banned unvaccinated lawmakers from parliament.