Ahead of winter, much of German-speaking Europe has already been hit by a new set of measures, including stay-at-home orders, restaurant closures and compulsory vaccination orders.
In scenes reminiscent of late 2020, authorities are concerned about skyrocketing Covid case rates and rapidly dwindling hospital capacity.
A major reason for this is the region’s low vaccination rate, which trails other Western European countries.
German-speaking Europe’s low vaccination rate has drawn significant media attention, with a variety of explanations emerging, from poor initial vaccination messaging to the legacy of Nazi-era policies.
With approximately 100 million people living in German-speaking regions of the continent, reducing vaccine hesitancy to a few cultural touchstones may fail to tell the true story.
There are however a number of reasons why a reluctance to get vaccinated has taken hold in German-speaking parts of the continent.
From the legacy of Nazi policies to a widespread belief in alternative medicine, German-speaking Europe has made itself vulnerable to the emotion-laden appeals of the anti-vaccine movement.
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