More broadly, a majority of elderly Austrians living in nursing homes have already received the first shot of a vaccine against COVID-19, the Austrian news agency APA reported.
Earlier this week, the president of the European Jewish Congress, or EJC, called on all countries in the European Union to ensure that Holocaust survivors have access to coronavirus vaccines as quickly as possible.
With the end of World War II now more than seven decades ago, the world s approximately 240,000 Holocaust survivors are all elderly. Since many were deprived of proper nutrition when they were young, they suffer from numerous medical issues today. In addition, many live isolated lives, having lost their entire families and also have psychological stresses because of their persecution under the Nazis.
CommunityCoronavirus
Thursday, January 28, 2021 at 4:32 pm | ט ו שבט תשפ א
VIENNA (AP) -
Thursday, January 28, 2021 at 4:32 pm | ט ו שבט תשפ א
A Holocaust survivor receives the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine against the COVID-19 disease, at a vaccination center on International Holocaust Remembrance Day in Vienna, Austria, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak)
Hundreds of Holocaust survivors in Austria and Slovakia got their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine Wednesday, an acknowledgement of past suffering and a tribute to resilience 76 years after Soviet troops liberated the Auschwitz death camp in Nazi-occupied Poland.
More than 400 Austrian survivors, most in their 80s or 90s, were expected to get shots at the convention center in Vienna. Some were brought by shuttle or by ambulance, while others were accompanied by their children. The fittest among them took the subway.
Hundreds of Holocaust survivors in Austria and Slovakia got their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine Wednesday, an acknowledgement of past suffering and a tribute to resilience 76 years after Soviet troops liberated the Auschwitz death camp in Nazi-occupied Poland.
Holocaust Survivors to Get Vaccine on Auschwitz Liberation Day nbcsandiego.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nbcsandiego.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
World
Wednesday, January 27, 2021 at 4:32 am | י ד שבט תשפ א
VIENNA -
Wednesday, January 27, 2021 at 4:32 am | י ד שבט תשפ א
In this Jan. 27, 2019 file photo, a man walks through the gate of the Sachsenhausen Nazi death camp with the phrase
Arbeit macht frei (work sets you free) above, during International Holocaust Remembrance Day in Oranienburg, about 30 kilometers (18 miles) north of Berlin, Germany. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, file)
Hundreds of Holocaust survivors in Austria and Slovakia were poised to get their first coronavirus vaccination Wednesday, acknowledging their past suffering with a special tribute 76 years after the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp, where the Nazis murdered more than one million Jews,