The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said that the time had come for the European Union to consider mandatory vaccination of the entire population, Euronews reports.

At the same time, she noted that the final decision on the issue must be taken by the member states themselves. "This is a discussion that I think should take place in the EU," von der Layen said.

According to the head of the European Commission, against the background of the spread of the new variant of coronavirus Omicron, it is now "appropriate and reasonable" to hold a discussion on the mandatory vaccine, specifying that this is her personal position.

According to her, at the moment it seems that "there is no other way out of this pandemic." Von der Leyen also announced that the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine will be available from 13 December. It will take "about 100 days" for the scientific community to adapt the vaccine to the omicron variant, she said.

Earlier, on November 29, Austria had drafted a bill to introduce compulsory vaccination against coronavirus, which can lead to a fine or imprisonment for refusing vaccination. According to the bill, compulsory vaccination against coronavirus will be introduced in Austria from February 2022. A fine of 3,600 euros is envisaged for refusing vaccination, and for refusing to pay it, a person could face up to four months in prison. A fine of 7,200 euros has been imposed in the bill for multiple refusals to vaccinate. Exceptions are made for those who are at risk for life and health due to vaccination, as well as for pregnant women and children under 12 years of age. The bill will be presented to the Austrian parliament on December 6.

/Focus