Governments have been making COVID-19 shots mandatory for health workers and other high-risk groups, pushed by a sharp upturn in infections caused by the Delta variant and a slowdown in vaccinations, as well as the new Omicron variant.
A growing number of countries are also making shots compulsory for public servants and other workers.
Here are some countries’ vaccine mandates, listed according to categories of people affected:
ALL ADULTS
** AUSTRIA: all over 14s from February 2022; holdouts can be fined up to 3,600 euros every 3 months
** ECUADOR: obligatory, except for people who have a relevant medical condition or incompatibility
** GERMANY: plans to make mandatory for all adults from February
** INDONESIA: all adults, with fines or refusal of social assistance or government services for the unvaccinated.
** MICRONESIA: all adults
** TAJIKISTAN: all over 18s
** TURKMENISTAN: all over 18s
GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR WORKERS
** CANADA: all federally regulated workplaces from early 2022
** COSTA RICA: all state workers
** CROATIA: all public sector employees, citizens who need services in public institutions
** CZECH REPUBLIC: police officers, soldiers and some other professions from March
** DENMARK: workplaces allowed to require a digital “corona pass” for employees
** EGYPT: vaccination or weekly COVID-19 test required from public sector employees to work in government buildings
** FIJI: public servants, employees at private firms
** FRANCE: public officials or employees, including civil security pilots, flight personnel providing care for victims, soldiers permanently assigned to civil security missions, firefighters
** GHANA: targeted groups including all public sector and health workers from Jan. 22
** HUNGARY: employees at state institutions
** ITALY: all workers, school staff, police, military
** LATVIA: required for lawmakers to be able to vote and to receive full pay; businesses allowed to fire unvaccinated workers
** LEBANON: all civil servants and workers in the education, tourism and public transport sectors from Jan. 10
** NEW ZEALAND: workers of border, prison, police and defense force sectors; education sector by Jan. 1
** OMAN: public or private sector employees for entry to workplace
** POLAND: teachers, security personnel and uniformed services from March 1, 2022
** RUSSIA: workers with public-facing roles in Moscow;
** SAUDI ARABIA: public and private sector workers wishing to attend a workplace; people entering government, private, or educational establishments
** TUNISIA: officials, employees and visitors accessing public and private administrations
** TURKEY: some sectors including teachers and domestic travel employees
** UKRAINE: public sector employees including teachers; extension to medical personnel and municipal employees under consideration
** UNITED STATES: all federal workers, contractors (temporarily blocked from enforcing nationwide), private sector workers in companies with 100 or more employees (reinstated on Dec. 18), public-sector workers (contested in New York court)
HEALTH WORKERS
** AUSTRALIA: high-risk aged-care workers, employees in quarantine hotels
** BRITAIN: care home staff in England, health workers in England by April 1
** CROATIA: health and social care workers
** CZECH REPUBLIC: hospitals and nursing homes employees from March 2022
** FINLAND: plans to make vaccines mandatory for health and social care workers
** FRANCE: healthcare and care home workers, home aids and urgent care technicians
** GERMANY: workers of hospitals, doctor’s offices and nursing homes by mid-March.
** GREECE: nursing home staff, healthcare workers
** HUNGARY: healthcare workers
** LEBANON: health sectors from Jan. 10, 2022
** NEW ZEALAND: health and disability sector workers
** POLAND: health care workers from March 1, 2022
OTHER WORKERS
** Western Australia: employees of mining, oil and gas exploration sectors by Jan. 1, 2022
** CHINA: booster shot required in Beijing for key workers on construction sites, including cooks, security guards and cleaning personnel
** PHILIPPINES: in-office workers and employees in public transportation services
** KAZAKHSTAN: mandatory vaccinations or weekly testing for people working in groups of more than 20
CHILDREN
** COSTA RICA: over 5s
** LITHUANIA: over 16s, considering for over 12s
ELDERLY
** CZECH REPUBLIC: over 60s from March
** GREECE: over 60s
** MALAYSIA: over 60s and all adult recipients of the Sinovac vaccine required to get a booster dose by Feb.
** RUSSIA: over 60s and chronically ill in St. Petersburg
ENTRY TO PUBLIC VENUES
** AUSTRIA: public places including restaurants, hotels, theatres and ski lifts
** BRITAIN: vaccination or negative test for all over-18s at night clubs and other venues in Scotland; at nightclubs, some indoor and outdoor unseated venues and all venues with more than 10,000 people in England
** BULGARIA: “health pass” for visitors of public venues such as cafes, hotels, concert halls, museums and swimming pools
** CZECH REPUBLIC: vaccination certificates or testing status required at restaurants and clubs
** DENMARK: health pass required for entry to indoor bars, restaurants and other public places
** EGYPT: vaccination mandatory for public university students to access campuses
** FRANCE: health pass required for restaurants, cafes, cinemas and museums, other public venues. Health pass will be transformed into a vaccination pass, mandatory for some professionals and for entry to cinemas and bars from first half of Jan.
** GERMANY: vaccination required for all but the most essential businesses such as grocery stores, pharmacies and bakeries
** ITALY: vaccination required for indoor seating at bars, restaurants, visiting museums, cinemas, clubs, attending sporting events; basic green health pass obligatory for all public transport
** KENYA: court temporarily halted vaccination requirement by Dec. 21 to access public services including schools, transport services, immigration and other state offices, hotels, bars, restaurants, national parks, wildlife reserves
** LEBANON: vaccine certificate or antibody tests required for entry to restaurants, cafes, pubs and beaches
** MOROCCO: vaccine required for access to all government buildings, spaces such as cafes, restaurants, cinemas, gyms, transportation
** NETHERLANDS: health pass mandatory to enter bars, restaurants, clubs or cultural events
** ROMANIA: health pass, negative COVID-19 test or proof of recovery mandatory for entry to most public venues including majority of non-essential ones
** SERBIA: health pass mandatory to visit indoor cafes, hotels and restaurants after 10 p.m.
** SINGAPORE: vaccination necessary to enter shopping malls; considers requiring a booster shot to qualify as fully vaccinated
** SWITZERLAND: proof of vaccination, recovery or a negative test required to access bars, restaurants and fitness centers
** SOUTH KOREA: vaccine pass mandatory to access 14 designated public spaces, including hospitality and entertainment venues; requirement extended to over 12s from February
** SWEDEN: vaccine passes required for indoor events with more than 100 people; to be extended to smaller gatherings, such as in restaurants.
** UKRAINE: restrictions for unvaccinated on access to restaurants, sports and other public events
