Austria has targeted the new unvaccinated COVID-19.That’s why-nationwide

As Europe becomes the epicenter of the epidemic again COVID-19 pandemic, A country is taking bold measures to eliminate infection: Austria.

The Western European country imposed a lockdown—a measure that many Canadians are familiar with—but there is a twist: the lockdown only applies to people who have not been vaccinated.

As of midnight on Monday, approximately 2 million Austrians who are eligible for vaccination but have not yet been vaccinated have been banned from going out, except for basic activities such as work, grocery shopping, school or vaccination.

Protests against this move have occurred all over the country, but how did Austria get here?

Over the past few weeks, the number of new infections across the continent has been increasing, especially in Austria, where hospitals are facing increasing pressure.

Only 65% ​​of the country’s population has been vaccinated against COVID-19-one of the countries with the lowest vaccination rates in Western Europe.

On Monday, Austria had 894.3 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the past week, surpassing neighboring Germany, which had 303 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants in 7 days. Associated Press reports.

These statistics led the conservative Austrian government to implement an unvaccinated blockade, which will last until November 24. This rule does not apply to children under 12 who are not yet eligible for vaccination.

Kerry Bowman, professor of bioethics and global health at the University of Toronto, believes that the Austrian blockade may have divided the country of 8.9 million people.

“When I read it, I almost fell off my chair. I was so angry with the unvaccinated that many people responded, “What a great idea, we should do it everywhere. “This is not my reaction,” he told Global News.

“Austria is another country, and they will operate as they see fit, but I very much hope that from the perspective of ethics and human rights, this kind of thing will not spread to other places.”

Bowman added that although the policy package seems to be aimed at encouraging vaccination, it may have unintended consequences.

“It may be counterproductive,” he said. “When you take extreme measures of this nature, you will face the risk of civil unrest.”

In Austria, including conservatives and the police, people generally doubt how to implement the blockade.

Basically, officials stated that the police will step up patrols and inspections. If the lockdown regulations are violated, people who are not vaccinated will be fined up to 1,450 euros (2,073.54 Canadian dollars).

Critics said In some cases it will be difficult to verifyFor example, whether someone is on the way to work, is this allowed, or is it allowed to buy non-essential goods, which is not allowed.

1:15Austria imposes lockdown on people who have not been fully vaccinated against COVID-19

According to the Chancellor of the Exchequer Alexander Schellenberg, the purpose of all this is to increase vaccination.

“In the long run, the way to get out of the vicious circle we are in – it’s a vicious circle, we have stumbled from wave after wave of blockades, and can’t continue indefinitely — just get vaccinated,” Sharonberg told Oe1 radio on Monday.

Schellenberg called the decision a “significant move” that will affect approximately 2 million people in the country.

“We are trying to minimize contact between unvaccinated and vaccinated people and between unvaccinated people,” he said.

Françoise Baylis, a bioethicist at Dalhousie University, told Global News that those who could not be vaccinated for legitimate medical reasons may now find themselves in this category. group.

“This is the cause of the problem. In addition to the issue of justice, the government seems to have said that part of the motivation for this rather harsh approach is to encourage those who have not been vaccinated to get vaccinated, but this is for this particular group,” she said. .

Bayliss added that expanding police powers could also lead to further targeting of marginalized members of the Austrian population-advocates and citizens around the world were worried about this when strict lockdowns were imposed in the early stages of the pandemic. Including in Canada.

“When you give law enforcement this kind of power, you have to be very careful and consider the potential long-term impact on minorities, who may be scrutinized more carefully than some other members of society,” she said. .

Germany and the Netherlands are just some of the other European countries that have seen a return of COVID-19 infection.

Last weekend, the Netherlands imposed a partial lockdown for at least three weeks, forcing bars and restaurants to close at 8pm

Berlin joined several other German jurisdictions on Monday to restrict access to restaurants, cinemas, museums and concerts for people who have been vaccinated or have recently recovered. People who have not been vaccinated, even those who test negative, have been turned away. Except for those under 18 years of age.

In Canada, 88% of people 12 years and older have received a COVID-19 vaccine, and 84% have completed the vaccination.

However, Dr. Barry Parks, a professor at the University of Toronto’s Dalarana School of Public Health, said that about 5 million eligible Canadians have not yet been vaccinated, and this number must be improved.

He called on Canadians to help increase these numbers.

He said: “There are still five weeks before the Christmas holiday where people gather. People will do this in advance. This is a high-risk period that may accelerate cases.”

“If we make some progress in vaccination beforehand, then we don’t even have to think about the things they are talking about in Austria.”

Parkes compared Austria’s unvaccinated blockade with Canada’s mandatory vaccination policy, but on a larger scale.

He added that Canada is unlikely to encounter a similar situation, but Canadians should view this as an example of “what happens when we don’t do the right thing”.

Only 41% of the eligible population in the world is fully vaccinated According to Johns Hopkins University, Bowman and Bayliss are very clear that the strategy of relying on vaccines cannot work alone now.

“Many countries that rely on vaccines get out of this situation. It’s not enough,” Bowman said.

Bayliss said that countries need to consider “all the tools in the toolkit,” such as mandatory masks and vaccine passports, and further adopt a global mindset.

“We really need to continue to understand two things: it will put everything together, so all the public health measures we took earlier, and… vaccinations,” she said.

“If the long-term goal is to get rid of the pandemic, we really have to understand that this is a global pandemic. This is a global problem, and in this case, a global solution is needed.”

— Documents from Reuters and Associated Press.

View link »