Austria says it is suspending mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations for all adults as the pandemic no longer poses the same danger, just weeks after the law took effect in an European Union first, reports AFP.

The Alpine nation of nine million people was among few countries in the world to make jabs against the coronavirus compulsory for all adults.

The law took effect in February and called for fines up to 3,600 euros from mid-March for those who do not comply.

But minister Karoline Edtstadler said the law's “encroachment of fundamental rights” could no longer be justified by the danger posed by the pandemic.