The planned introduction of a general compulsory vaccination in February 2022 is not only causing waves in Austria – other countries are also thinking louder about it (as eXXpress reports, especially among our neighbors in Germany, the calls for the mandatory Jaukerl are getting louder, note .). In some professions, especially in the health sector, compulsory vaccinations are as good as a prerequisite, and something similar could now also flourish for the armed forces. The second highest military in Austria and chief of the Austrian army, Franz Reissner, is now calling for the introduction of compulsory vaccinations for all his comrades: In order to minimize “personal and external danger” for all army personnel, Reissner calls for a general compulsory vaccination for all soldiers from the moment they enter the military service, as well as for members of the militia and all other employees of the armed forces or the Ministry of National Defense. That affects almost 65,000 Austrians.
According to a report by the “Krone”, Reissner wrote to the General Staff on Tuesday afternoon in which he formulated his demand for mandatory vaccination for the armed forces. The newspaper followed up and was informed by the Ministry of Defense that this was a “proposal from Lieutenant General Reissner to the General Staff” which “supported the federal government’s way of implementing a nationwide mandatory vaccination”. Regardless of this, there are still sufficient vaccination offers for army personnel.
Soldiers who are abroad or want to go abroad have had to be vaccinated against Corona since the summer. The soldiers who are deployed abroad “must have the vaccine available in each case according to the current recommendations of the National Vaccination Board”. For those who are on duty in Austria, there is still no obligation to be immunized against an infection with the coronavirus.
