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Today in Austria For Members

Today in Austria: A roundup of the latest news on Thursday

Amanda Previdelli
Amanda Previdelli - [email protected]
Today in Austria: A roundup of the latest news on Thursday
The flu vaccination campaign focuses on people older than 65, but the vaccine is recommended to all. (Photo by JORGE GUERRERO / AFP)

New appointments available for flu vaccinations, SPÖ chancellor candidate, earthquake in Tyrol and more news from Austria on Thursday.

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  • Austrian Christmas traditions: The festive dates you need to know

Catholics celebrate the first Sunday of Advent this weekend, and Austrians are ready for the season with crowns, demon-like creatures lurking, and a winged baby that brings children toys. Here are the main festive dates you need to know about.

  • Vienna offers 64,000 Influenza vaccination appointments

The City of Vienna has made available another 64,000 influenza vaccination appointments for December in the city's vaccination centres and those of the ÖGK. 

The 50,000 appointments available in November are almost fully booked and a total of 226,600 of the available 400,000 influenza vaccine doses have already been used in the capital, according to the city press office.

The City of Vienna is investing a total of €9.9 million to be able to offer the flu vaccination campaign in Vienna free of charge again this year.  The campaign will run until the end of the year unless an extension becomes necessary due to high demand. 

The influenza vaccination campaign focuses on people aged over 65. This is to avoid multiple exposures to Covid-19 and the "real flu". Chronically ill people, children and health or care workers are also among the priority target groups. However, influenza vaccination is also recommended to all other people.

READ ALSO: Masks against Covid and flu: What’s ahead for Austria this winter

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  • Who will be the SPÖ candidate for the chancellery?

Pamela Rendi-Wagner sees herself as the prominent name to head a federal campaign with centre-left party SPÖ. 

"I will be the top candidate in the next National Council election," she said in an interview with "oe24.TV" on Wednesday. The statement came after a regional Burgenland SPÖ poll saw the party rise in voting intention when led by ​​Burgenland's governor Hans Peter Doskozil.

Salzburg's regional party leader David Egger also came out in support of Doskozil: "Hans Peter Doskozil is doing a top job," he told the Salzburger Nachrichten.

Asked whether the poll commissioned by the SPÖ Burgenland, in which Doskozil does better as a fictitious top candidate, affected her, Rendi-Wagner replied: "No, it doesn't hit me. There have been countless polls in recent years and they change quickly," Der Standard reported. However, she reiterated that she is still the candidate for the party.

Austria is scheduled to have a national election for the National Council, and a new chancellor, in 2024.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: How do Austrians elect their chancellor?

  • Earthquake of magnitude 2.4 registered in Tyrol

An earthquake of magnitude 2.4 occurred in the Stubai Alps in Tyrol on Wednesday, the Austrian Seismological Service of the Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics (ZAMG) reported. 

According to the report, the population felt the quake in isolated cases as tremors. However, the institute said no damage to buildings is expected at this magnitude, the institute said.

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  • Vorarlberg abandons plans for a large-scale asylum centre

The state of Vorarlberg has abandoned plans to rent a commercial hall in Schwarzach as accommodation for 150 refugees, Austrian media reported.

As the Vorarlberg daily newspapers and ORF Radio Vorarlberg reported on Wednesday, the property owner had put restrictions on use, excluding using the hall as living quarters.

The responsible regional councillor Christian Gantner (ÖVP) declared the project off.

There are currently about 3,100 refugees housed in Vorarlberg, but in line with the deal between Austrian provinces and the government, there should be 4,000. About 57 percent of them come from Ukraine.

READ ALSO: Tents for asylum seekers stir debate in Austria

  • Weather

Screenshot from ZAMG

On the northern side of the Alps and partly in the east, dense clouds will persist during the day, Austria's meteorologic institute ZAMG said. Rain showers are expected and, above 900m, snow will fall. 

In the afternoon, the clouds will gradually clear in the west. In the south, however, it will remain generally rainless and sunny during the day after a frosty morning. The wind will be moderate in the Danube region and at the eastern edge of the Alps brisk from westerly directions. The daily high temperature is 4C to 11C.

If you have any questions about life in Austria, ideas for articles or news tips for The Local, please get in touch with us at [email protected].

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Anonymous 2022/11/24 18:22
How to get a flu vaccine?
  • Amanda Previdelli 2022/11/29 06:52
    Hi! Depends on which province you are. Vienna, for example, has a campaign and you can schedule an appointment with the impfservice.

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