How mandatory Covid jabs could fuel radicalisation of anti-vaxxers

Vaccine mandates risk enabling far-right extremists across Europe to attract followers from the anti-vax movement and intelligence officials are on high alert, reports Ahmed Aboudouh

A protest against mandatory Covid vaccines in Athens, Greece, on 19 December 2021 (Anadolu Agency/Getty)

This year saw the rise of the “pandemic fatigue” for people across Europe, despite successful efforts by many governments to vaccinate their citizens and reduce hospitalisations and deaths caused by coronavirus.

However, officials in several countries struggled to contain a different type of threat that emerged throughout 2021: the radicalisation of Covid deniers and the so-called anti-vax movement.

Protesters repeatedly took to the streets in multiple cities across countries including but not limited to France, the Netherlands, Austria, Slovenia, and Croatia to oppose lockdowns, Covid passes and mandatory vaccines.