High membership fee

Austria joins vaccine institute

Austria is joining the International Vaccine Institute, as was decided in the National Council on Wednesday. The government hopes that this will give it an advantage in the fight against infectious diseases and future pandemics. All parties except the FPÖ were in favor of the new membership.

Vaccinations are one of the greatest achievements of the past centuries, said ÖVP MP Juliane Bogner-Strauß. Mario Lindner from the SPÖ said that the health policy challenges could not be met alone, but only with international cooperation.

The Freedom Party criticized the membership costs incurred by the Institute's headquarters in Vienna, which according to the government amount to 800,000 euros per year. The headquarters of the International Vaccine Institute (IVI), which was founded in 1997, is located in Seoul, South Korea.

Companies can participate
Another point of criticism from the FPÖ is that companies and foundations can take a stake in the institute, which would give the pharmaceutical industry "a certain influence" over it. The debate was also used for another reckoning with the corona measures. Ralph Schallmeiner from the Greens accused the opposition party of spreading fear and terror by warning against vaccinations. This was not only anti-science, but also anti-human.

The International Vaccine Institute was founded at the instigation of the UN and has had a branch in Vienna since last year.