One in ten Austrians could lose their vaccination status in February

More than 900,000 Austrians, or about 10% of the population, risk losing their vaccination status if they do not get their second or booster shot before February. This is because, from February, COVID certificates will be valid for six months rather than the current nine.

The government has decided to shorten the validity period because the additional jab is deemed necessary to fight the spread of the infectious Omicron variant that became dominant in Austria in early January.

However, around 900,000 Austrians have not received their booster or second jab yet. If they fail to get the additional vaccine in time, they will be forced into lockdown.

“We assume, however, that until then, numerous people will get their booster vaccination,” the ministry told press agency APA. The government also said they would communicate the issue more intensively in the coming days and weeks. “No one should be surprised by the expiration of the validity,” the health ministry added.

The expiry of COVID certificates is already having consequences for those who took the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine as they were obliged to get a booster shot by 3 January. According to the health ministry, over 71,000 people did not get the additional jab in time, which invalidated their COVID certificate, Salzburger Nachrichten reported.

According to the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC), 70.8% of the Austrian population has received at least two doses, compared to 68.7% across the EU.

(Oliver Noyan | EURACTIV.de)