Compulsory vaccination and imminent fine of up to 3.6 thousand. euro: could Lithuania follow Austria’s example?
Dozens of ski people have protested against the mandatory skid magazine at weekend rallies since such plans were announced in November to increase vaccination rates in Austria.
However, all parties except the far right supported the measure, with the new law passed 137 votes to 33.
The government initially made the requirement applicable to all persons 14 years of age and older, and will now only apply to adults. Exceptions will be made for pregnant women who have recently had a coronavirus infection and for people who cannot get vaccinated for health reasons.
It is estimated that after the “introductory phase”, those who fail to reach the middle of March will be fined up to 600 euros, and in some cases up to 3.6 thousand. euros.
Slušnys would support the decision in Lithuania
Linas Slušnys, a member of the Seimas Health Affairs Committee, calls the Austrian decision “brave” and the COVID-19 management agency welcomes the content.
“They probably made a decision after weighing all the pros and cons, knowing that vaccination, vaccination, is the only way to live a safe life in society. Apparently, they’re playing less politics in this place – they’re making it clear that they won’t have to pay fines, they won’t have any problems if they get vaccinated, “he says.
Speaking about the introduction of compulsory vaccinations in Lithuania as well, L. Slušnys emphasized that proposing this proposal to parliamentarians would be a kind of suicide, as there is no shortage of tensions in the country, but confirmed that he would support the decision himself.
“I am very strict on this and I can say quite boldly, because I myself thought that we should have to pay for the fact that he went to the hospital without vaccination to use the resources. However, when it comes to motives, I think that there are too many voters in our society who are anti-Lithuanian. This could lead to some upset – there would be pretexts for protests like the 1991 on January 13, when the riots begin.
It is thought to me that you could have such support in the Seimas today. I would be at the units that support and agree, “the parliamentarian said.
Is it appropriate to impose penalties for vaccination?
As mentioned above, unvaccinated Austrians will face fines of 600 to 3.6 thousand. euros.
Asked by Slušnis whether vaccination for personal refusal was not a drastic solution, he emphasized that such an approach was appropriate when “many problems need to be rescued against a perhaps not always rational minority”.
“In this case, when there are illogical people who are stubborn, who prove their truth, it makes sense. <…> Austrians calculate how much it costs a person who has not been vaccinated to the state.
When we talk about non-vaccinators, the state counts tourism resources. Here, the fine is to say that a person may not get vaccinated, but will have to pay for such a decision, ”L. Slušnys points out.
The parliamentarian also pointed out that the Lithuanian record was 143 thousand. spent in the resuscitation of one person.
“In resuscitation, about 90 percent. people are unvaccinated. What does this mean? That unvaccinated people are suffering from a very important and precious resource, because in our resuscitation in Lithuania, according to its structure, it is no worse than in Britain or Germany, it is in Austria. many equipments are with us. Hence, it is a very expensive service. It can cost 400 euros or more per day. Here is the price.
These Austrians very usually count these things. They count how much it costs and no longer make politics at this point. If resources need to be counted, we do mandatory vaccination, ”says L. Slušnys.
Blinkevičiūtė: “Penalties are above all”
The European Parliament, the leader of the Lithuanian Social Democrats, Vilija Blinkevičiūtė, tells the news portal tv3.lt that she does not want to comment on the decisions made in Austria, but emphasizes that her personal position was that vaccination against coronavirus is necessary and necessary.
“The vast majority of people both in Lithuania and in other European Union countries behave this way, and have been vaccinated not only twice, but also for the third vaccination. In fact, I thank them very much and congratulate them, ”she says.
After asking V. Blinkevičiūtė’s opinion on whether a fine solution is needed for those who do not vaccinate, she was categorical in answering the question: “Penalties are already above all. It is unlikely that this could be applied in Lithuania as well. <…> I don’t think anyone can offer that. “
“Mandatory” is often understood as “coercive”
Commenting on the Austrian decision to vaccinate all adults on a mandatory basis, communication expert Arijus Katauskas first points out that each country has its own challenges in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Whether it’s Britain or the EU, it’s happening in many countries, both because of the vaccination campaign and because of quarantine and the like. We are not something unique here because many societies have problems. problems and completely identical or their expressions are not completely identical, but all countries are up to the challenge, ”he emphasizes.
He also reminds that in many countries of the world about mandatory vaccination has been around for more than a month. Lithuania is no exception.
“Part of the society in one or another country refuses to be vaccinated, has resistance, as we do, to passport opportunities. Our MEPs have remarks to the Greens in the European Parliament and so on. But to say unequivocally that it is because of a vaccine injury crash would certainly not be possible.
The fact that Lithuania is not alone in the world with its resistance in the public sphere and this can be reassured in part by our government, but on the other hand I think it is a positive thing, because the visual countries are different means, different techniques things to learn. In this case, the conflict situation has led to such decisions. “
When asked, the decisions evoke the emotion of the society with the word “obligatory”, A. Katauskas points out that it is associated with the word “coercion” in society: “The state accepts how it should be, and you must obey it.”
According to him, this is the resistance caused to a certain part of the society, and things like the introduction of compulsory vaccination depend a lot on the society itself.
“Since we have also heard suggestions that vaccination should be compulsory, let us remember the discussions that have taken place in our country as well. Now those negative things that are in the public sphere, the negative things about vaccinations, because of quarantine, have also come from a time when it mobilized people before vaccinations, looking for like-minded, languages.
“The discussion turned into a further period when it is no longer possible, because opinions differed so radically that it is throwing stones at each other, but not talking,” he says.
There is no doubt that offering mandatory vaccinations in Lithuania could cause unrest
According to A. Katauskas, the topic of compulsory vaccinations would be a kind of “suicide” for many politicians. In his insights, even those people who are vaccinated and vaccinated responsibly, they cannot disagree with that.
“Therefore, any strong, especially, coercive government behavior can really ignite even more sparks, and a lot of gunpowder barrels. That spark may not get into the barrel of gunpowder, but if it does, it will be hot. I think that in this place, now that we are gradually moving towards better vaccination results, we will remove all the stimuli, I should only talk about it if we are ready to do so. Otherwise, it is an annoyance, ”the expert emphasizes.
The news portal tv3.lt reminds that compulsory vaccination against coronavirus is rarely used in the world. Until now, only Ecuador, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Indonesia and Micronesia have taken such a step.