One way or another

As the Omicron variant runs rampant across Europe, with rising infection rates among medical staff and vaccination campaigns facing resistance, fear or skepticism among sections of the population, some European countries have decided to step up the fight against Covid-19 and make vaccination compulsory. The measure is mostly reserved for health care workers or certain categories of the population, such as in Italy, which plans to make vaccination compulsory for those aged 50 and over.

Last November Austria became the first European country to announce compulsory vaccination, expected to begin as early as February 2022. Technical difficulties have now pushed the date back to April. In Germany, mandatory vaccination, which is highly controversial, is not expected to be discussed in Parliament until the end of January. In France, where demonstrations against vaccination continue, compulsory vaccination is not yet planned, with the government preferring a more restrictive health pass.