Video / NZ HeraldAs an increasing number of countries ramp up pressure on citizens who continue to remain unvaccinated against coronavirus, Japan has taken the opposite approach. "Although we encourage all citizens to receive the Covid-19 vaccination, it is not compulsory or mandatory," a notice on the Ministry of Health website reads. In Australia, the NSW government is reportedly considering a similar move to bill unvaccinated patients for their hospital expenses. Other countries have gone further, with Austria becoming the first nation in Europe to announce a blanket mandatory vaccination policy taking effect from February next year. Outside of that, states have taken their own decisions on their own public health orders to put those mandates in place.

Source: New Zealand Herald December 22, 2021 19:08 UTC