Tu Felix Austria

After a record rise in new cases and comparatively low vaccination numbers (although those are finally starting to increase), Austria decided on a ten-day hard lockdown for everyone, including those already vaccinated. Though only a stop-gap measure, it shows how desperate the situation has become in many parts of continental Europe.

By luck, or simply because many “high-risk individuals” got infected last time around, Sweden has so far steered clear of this new wave but I would be genuinely surprised if it stays that way. Many countries with higher vaccination rates (such as Iceland) have seen a recent surge in cases, although, importantly, not in deaths, giving further evidence that vaccination is great for protecting against severe illness and death but does very little to stop the spread of infection in the community.

With the Austrian anti-vaxxers now advocating Ivermectin, I was reminded of this tweet from back in August which sort of says it all:

Considering that I will pass through Vienna myself in a little more than two weeks, I also have a personal interest in how the situation unfolds and whether the lockdown will be extended or not. For the moment, however, I am still in Umeå, biking to work and making lasagne with Chianti for dinner.