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Factbox | Countries making COVID-19 vaccines mandatory

Coronavirus tests before New Year’s celebrations in Paris
A woman wearing a protective mask walks past a mobile coronavirus disease (COVID-19) testing booth in Paris, France, December 31, 2021.
REUTERS/Christian Hartmann

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