According to a survey carried out by GfK Austria (formerly: Fessel-GfK) on behalf of Wiener Städtische Versicherung, every fourth Austrian is particularly psychologically stressed by the corona pandemic. Around half of the participants stated that they were ready to be vaccinated, 37 percent even within the first month of availability.

Good or even very good - this is how 75 percent of Austrians currently describe their state of health, another 18 percent rate it as neutral. The higher the age, the less healthy people feel, but the survey did not reveal any differences between the sexes in this regard. Mental health is different, however: 47 percent of women feel more stressed overall by the corona situation, compared to 38 percent for men. If you look at the results according to age, it becomes apparent that this also plays an important role in the stress level: In the age groups under 50 years of age, the lowest value is 45 percent, in contrast to those over 60, only 38 percent stated that they were felt a burden at the time of the survey in early October. This was generally higher during the first lockdown - 67 percent of respondents said that the psychological stress had decreased again after the exit restrictions. For the 60+ generation, the value is again higher, at 76 percent. This means that older people were much more psychologically stressed during the lockdown than they are at the moment.

Weak, listless, shortness of breath - bitter reality for half of those surveyed who have had corona disease and are already considered to have recovered. However, the consequences can not only be protracted, but also extremely serious, especially for members of risk groups. 76 percent of Austrians have to deal with this because they either belong to the risk group themselves or someone from the family. 52 percent of them state that this fact has a strong influence on their behavior with regard to the corona precautionary measures.

41 percent of doctor appointments had to be postponed during the initial lockdown. “That is a very high value. Health care and the treatment of existing diseases must not be left by the wayside, even during an exceptional situation, such as the lockdown in spring and the current one. This must not be repeated under any circumstances, ”says Wendler, whether the current very serious situation is alarming. The Austrians gave medical care a good to satisfactory school grade - 44 percent of those surveyed were satisfied with it during the first lockdown. Of the doctor or treatment appointments that had to be postponed, most of them were screening appointments (42 percent), followed by follow-up appointments for an existing illness (37 percent) and non-critical treatments / therapies planned for a longer period (34 percent). 16 percent of the postponed appointments were even for the treatment / therapy of an acute illness and therefore urgently needed. At 85 percent, a large majority of those surveyed did not suffer from any acute or chronic illness during the initial lockdown. A little less than a third did not use any medical care during this time.

29 percent of Austrians state that they have been paying more attention to their own health since the beginning of the corona crisis. However, if you ask specifically about diet, sporting activities and weight development, this value is not confirmed: Only 17 percent did more sport during the first lockdown than before and only 11 percent state that they continued to do so after the lockdown. 38 percent, on the other hand, did less or no sport during the first lockdown; at the time of the survey, 29 percent of those surveyed said they did less exercise than before the first lockdown. The majority (73 percent) did not change their eating habits during the first lockdown and neither increased nor decreased. Only 18 percent paid more attention to their diet during the lockdown, a third changed their weight. Of this third, however, two out of three have increased and not decreased.