Vaccination appointments can be made for children in Lower and Upper Austria
From Wednesday (June 2nd) at 10am, twelve to 15-year olds Upper Austria and Lower Austria can register for a Covid-19 vaccination.
The link for Lower Austria is here, and for Upper Austria is here. The vaccination used will be Biontech/Pfizer.
Kurz reacts to criticism of vaccine rollout
As The Local reported yesterday, the promise that everyone will receive at least one dose of a vaccination against Covid-19 by the end of June made by Chancellor Sebastian Kurz is unlikely to be kept.
Kurz gave a press conference on Tuesday in which he blamed the failure on the increased willingness to vaccinate in the Austrian population and the inclusion of 12 to 15 year olds and pregnant women in the vaccination campaign.
He pointed out five million people would still be vaccinated in Austria by the end of June, which he gave as his original target in April.
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Vaccine hesitancy on the decline in Austria
There is increased willingness to vaccinate in the Austrian population, according to a survey by the University of Vienna made available to the Wiener Zeitung newspaper.
The Austrian Corona Panel Project found in May only 22 percent of those surveyed said they would "definitely not" or "probably not" want to be vaccinated, by far the lowest value since the beginning of the pandemic. In March this group was still around a third of the respondents.
Opposition slams 'broken promises' by Kurz
The opposition SPÖ party criticised Kurz over the vaccine rollout, broadcaster ORF reports. SPÖ health spokesman Philip Kucher said although Kurz would be vaccinated by the end of June, "numerous people” across Austria were “once again disappointed".
He said Kurz had broken promises to vaccinate all over 65-year-olds by the end of April, to vaccinate all over 50-year-olds by the end of May and to purchase additional vaccine doses in the millions, saying none of this has ever happened.
Some outlets have pointed out Austria’s ruling coalition did not buy its full allocation of Johnson and Johnson and Biontech doses from the EU according to population in August 2020, meaning Austria is likely to slip down the EU vaccination league tables as the summer progresses compared to other countries which bought as much vaccine as they could.
Leader of FPÖ in surprise resignation
As The Local reported yesterday, Norbert Hofer, the leader of Austria's far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ), announced his resignation on Tuesday after weeks of infighting and tension with party colleague and former Interior Minister Herbert Kickl.
Chancellor Kurz spoke of a strong personal relationship with Hofer and wished him well, Der Standard newspaper reports, while liberal NEOS party Secretary General Donig warned of a “radicalisation” of the party, should Kickl take over as leader as is rumoured.
Children in Austria are environmentally conscious and open to migration
Young people in Austria are environmentally conscious and open to migration according to a large-scale study by the universities of teacher education (PH), for which 14,400 students between the ages of 14 and 16 were surveyed in spring 2020.
Free antibody test when you give blood in Vienna
Anyone who goes to Vienna to donate blood in June can also have a free antibody check to see if they have recovered from a Covid-19 infection, the Kurier newspaper reports.
Those interested should contact the Red Cross blood donation centre in Wiedner Hauptstrasse 32.
England plays Austria in Euro 2020 friendly
England will kick off their build up to Euro 2020 with a friendly against Austria at the Riverside Stadium in Middlesborough on Wednesday at 9 p.m. You can watch it live on ORF 1.
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