As of today, vaccination against Covid-19 is compulsory for anyone over the age of 18 in Austria.

The new rule has over the past months garnered outrage from far-right extremists as the country's new domestic intelligence chief on Friday said foreign activists were coming to Austria to 'network' and hold 'meetings' with like-minded campaigners.

It is the first European country to take such a measure, whereas previously mandates across the world have been introduced for the elderly, vulnerable or medical staff.

Austrians could be fined from €600 to €3,600 for not following the vaccination rule, which will become punishable from from mid-March, according to Austrian paper Kleine Zeitung.

Pregnant women and people who can't be vaccinated for medical reasons are excluded from the mandate, which will expire in January 2024. 

In December tens of thousands took to the streets of Vienna to protest against mandatory Covid vaccines and home confinement orders, as unvaccinated Austrians learned they would be fined and restricted in the coming months.

Police had estimated 44,000 people attended the demonstration which saw 'no to vaccine fascism' signs held aloft. 

Earlier in January, thousands also marched across Vienna to protest the mandatory vaccination, chanting 'the government must go!' in what Reuters reported had become a 'a routine Saturday event' in the Austrian capital.

Speaking to AFP, the country's domestic intelligence chief Omar Haijawi-Pirchner said the trend which sees right-wing extremists travelling to Austria to 'network' 'very scary'.

He also said the gatherings were often used to spread hateful ideology such as anti-Semitism with attendees 'highly radicalised', Al Jazeera reported. 

Neighbouring Germany may also follow in Austria's footsteps as the country deliberates a potential vaccine mandate. 

Yesterday the German government admitted it had missed its target to have 80% of the population jabbed with at least one dose of the Covid vaccine by the end of January.