Austria’s government has proposed setting the minimum age for mandatory vaccinations against Covid-19 at 18 and rolling out the programme in stages from February 1, seeking to build broad consensus for the disputed step.

The conservative-led government had said last month it intended the mandate to apply to all people aged 14 and up, the first European Union country to make vaccinations compulsory for the general population.

A seven-year-old girl receives a dose of the vaccine at a coronavirus disease vaccination centre for children, in Tulln, Austria on December 1, 2021. — Reuters/File
A seven-year-old girl receives a dose of the vaccine at a coronavirus disease vaccination centre for children, in Tulln, Austria on December 1, 2021. — Reuters/File

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