Austria puts unvaccinated into lockdown

Hetty58

I think they have the right idea - in making life more difficult for the unvaccinated and protecting the majority from them, to some extent.

Perhaps they should have to wear a badge to show they are unvaccinated and are to be avoided.
A yellow star, perhaps?

What puzzles me is that we're forever being told that even if vaccinated and boosted we can nevertheless still catch the virus and, pass it on. So where is the difference between the vaccinated and unvaccinated mixing with other people? ?.

This struck me over the care homes arguments and I never got to the bottom of it. Of course I know that when vaccinated people catch the infection the symptoms mild but that's a completely separate point from whether or not the unvaccinated pose a greater threat to other people.

As I understand it, correct me if I’m wrong anyone, but vaccinated people are considerably less likely to catch Covid, and only about 50% likely to pass it on. Plus they are far less likely to be hospitalised, unless very old or with comorbidities. Plus less likely to require ITU. When we have had our boosters we are apparently 94% protected. That sounds like a big positive to me.

Wouldn't be accepted in UK. There would be an outcry by businesses and pub and club goers.

Agree with Winterwhite that unvaccinated and fully vaccinated can catch and transmit the virus.
I think numbers of infections are rising because fully vaccinated are not all aware of this and think its the same as other vaccines where you are protected against infection to a greater degree. The covid vaccine gives a very limited degree of protection but reduces severity of symptoms in most but not all cases. So really can't see the point of what Austria is doing.
I think their stance could actually cause numbers to rise as people will mistakenly feel safer.
I am fully vaccinated but careful not to go to crowded places.

Pity we couldn't enforce it in the Uk!!

There are certain things that would get me demonstrating out on the streets.

Preventing people from leaving their homes because they have declined a medical intervention would be one of them.

There was a TV program on BBC Scotland last night where they talked about how an island in the Forth was used as a "quarantine" area for people with syphilis and their carers in the 16th(?) century. Of course it wasn't quarantine, it was somewhere you were sent to die. If you didn't agree to go you were branded on the cheek and expelled from Edinburgh.

Any takers?

You can indeed get Covid, even vaccinated, just the effects seem to be less serious for most people. If you can get it, you must be able to pass it on.
I’ll be interested to see what happens in Austria. I think there are already protesters out on the streets.
No chance of that happening here though. We couldn’t even persuade some people to wear a mask or stay socially distanced.

Well, I can understand the anger. Take the situation of my hairdresser. Unknowingly she spent 2 hours in the salon doing the hair of someone she now knows is an anti-vaxxer. She caught Covid which she inadvertently passed to her husband, her 3 little girls and both sets of parents.

Her 4 year old is currently in the Children's Hospital with Covid breathing difficulties.

She is incredibly stressed and would probably like to see unvaccinated people locked down, and who could blame her.

Just thinking about this how are they going to police it? Will they stop people on the street and ask for proof of vaccine? To do that they will need the largest police force in the world.

I forgot to say that she caught Covid from the anti-vaxxer.

I really can’t believe that anybody thinks what is happening around the world at the moment is ok. People losing their jobs and livelihoods, being segregated because they are making personal choices about medical interventions for which the long term side effects are yet to be discovered. If you are vaccinated you are protected so why does an unvaccinated person worry you so much? And it seems if you have had covid your immunity lasts much longer than vaccination. I’m not an anti vaxer, just very worried about where we’re heading with this.

Sounds rather shocking.

Singapore has now decided that those who aren't vaccinated and end up needing care in hospital will have to pay for it themselves

www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/09/singapore-to-start-charging-covid-patients-who-are-unvaccinated-by-choice

4allweknow

Wouldn't be accepted in UK. There would be an outcry by businesses and pub and club goers.

and people concerned about human rights. Me included. I have had both of my vaccinations, but feel very uncomfortable about this move by Austria

Sparklefizz

I forgot to say that she caught Covid from the anti-vaxxer.

how does she know this for certain? My hairdresser does not ask to see vaccine certificates before entering her salon, but she insists, as is her right, that her clients were a mask, and so does she.

sazz1

Just thinking about this how are they going to police it? Will they stop people on the street and ask for proof of vaccine? To do that they will need the largest police force in the world.

Apparently they are going to have spot checks sazz1. What a nightmare.

I am so glad I don’t live in Austria, or in any country that seeks to impose such sanctions. What will happen next, the issue of badges to single out the unvaccinated? I seem to remember that stars were used by another regime who thought to impose totalitarian rule that eventually led to all opposition being stifled. Perhaps Austria remembers it?

Just a thought - if someone who is unvaccinated catches Covid they will experience more symptoms, thus being aware of the infection earlier. Conversely, someone who is vaccinated and catches the virus, is likely to be asymtomatic and consequently less likely to take precautions against spreading the virus to others. Where is the greatest risk?

Dayvidg I don’t know whether that’s true or not, but if it is true, then it depends on whether you want to protect yourself or others first.

I would be out on the streets with you Alegrias. I csnt even tell you how frightening I find this.

In Austria masks are mandatory in all indoor places so that the risk of transmission is lower, some require vaccination
certificates.
It’s the duty of any government to provide civil protection and we have all sorts of laws to limit our ability to harm others. If there is a penalty for using a racist remark which may be unpleasant but not life threatening, surely there should be a penalty when an infection is known to be life threatening.

It’s not a question of civil liberty, you don’t have the right to harm others.

If everyone was doing lateral flow tests as requested, we would be unlikely to have Covid and be unaware. However, it could happen because nothing is foolproof.

Sparklefizz what a terrible story. The hairdresser must be livid that an anti-vaxxer should cause so many people to be ill. How selfish these anti-vaxxers are. I wonder if she knew but ignored it because she didn’t feel ill. Or was she antisocial enough to go to the hairdresser both unvaccinated and untested?

sazz1

Just thinking about this how are they going to police it? Will they stop people on the street and ask for proof of vaccine? To do that they will need the largest police force in the world.

That is just what they are doing in Austria. Police doing spot checks, if no vaccine certificate fines up to €1450 .
www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-59283128

It's ridiculous that we don't have even the simplest restrictions here, which could save lives. Masks, for a start. It's hardly a massive sacrifice to wear one and it can reduce the risk of transmission, particularly if combined with scrupulous hygiene. Social distancing would obviously make a big difference, though the hospitality industry would presumably lobby hard against that being re-introduced. That's why we should have vaccination passports.

Scientists are warning of the danger of relying totally on vaccination to prevent a winter wave of infection, which could cost many lives and put massive pressure on the NHS. It appears that the government isn't listening and again won't act until its hand is forced, ie if the death toll rises in winter.

I can see why Singapore is going to charge the unvaccinated for medical care. There are many people here who have been unable to get the medical treatment they need, eg cancer operations, because the NHS is overburdened by Covid. My daughter was one of them and we ended up going private in desperation. People who could have the vaccine but choose to refuse, and then get very ill and need intensive hospital care, are putting pressure on the NHS that could have been avoided if they had just had the damn vaccine.

As for the rather tasteless remark about making the unvaccinated wear a yellow star - a more appropriate symbol would be a big "S" for selfish.

Not only are masks compulsory on public transport and indoor public spaces in Austria, they have to be medical grade masks, not just any old face covering or disposable masks.

Austria is at the heart of Europe, with seven or eight land borders, which makes it more vulnerable.