Europe is considering a step once unthinkable among Western democracies: Making Covid-19 vaccinations compulsory for the entire bloc. Until now, governments around the world had rejected the idea of a universal coronavirus vaccine mandate, opting instead for incentives and other “nudges” to motivate people to get shots. Even in authoritarian states, like China, it is not mandatory policy.
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday it was time to “think about mandatory vaccination” as the discovery of the Omicron variant triggered fears that the winter Covid-19 wave could be more brutal than previously thought. The news of the variant could push more countries to harden their approach, pivoting from voluntary to mandatory measures in a last-ditch effort to get shots in arms.
Last month, Austria became the first EU member to announce it would require citizens to get Covid-19 shots. The extraordinary move came just days after it introduced a lockdown for the unvaccinated — a restriction that went farther than other European nations in singling out the people who have been driving a worrying surge in hospitalizations. Germany on Thursday enforced the same targeted lockdown on its unvaccinated citizens and signaled support for mandatory vaccinations.
The series of decisions leading the European Union to this point reflects the desperate position governments find themselves in as they look to protect public health systems and tentative economic recoveries as cases soar across the continent. It is once again ground zero for the global pandemic, despite the widespread availability of vaccines.
It is that irony that has drawn the ire of Europe’s leaders, who are growing increasingly frustrated by vaccine skeptics and other pockets of the population still resisting Covid-19 vaccination programs.
“We have enough vaccines. Science gave us the possibility, the exit ticket out of this vicious circle of virus waves and lockdown discussions. And simply not enough people are using this possibility and taking this exit ticket, and that’s why we’re still stuck in this situation,” Austrian Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg told CNN before his resignation this week, explaining his decision to mandate Covid-19 vaccines by February 1. Those failing to adhere to the rule will face an administrative fine, but it’s not clear yet how high, or how the policy will be enforced. Nearly one in three people in Austria remain unvaccinated.
“It is a drastic measure. I would have preferred to go another way. But if one year in having the vaccine, of having national campaigns, of having media explaining again and again what this is about, that we have such a high degree of insecurity, of people believing in fake news … we have a necessity to take this drastic step,” Schallenberg added.