Swiss Covid vaccination rate takes off
Swiss Covid vaccination rate takes off
After a
slow start, the rate of vaccinations against Covid-19 in Switzerland is now
among the best in the world, reports the SonntagsZeitung newspaper.
At the
start of the year, the Swiss authorities were criticised for dragging their
heels on vaccinations despite having ambitious targets.
Drugs
regulator Swissmedic took longer than many countries to approve new vaccines
and when they arrived there were large discrepancies between the ability of
cantons to administer doses at speed.
But this
week, Switzerland administered 80,000 vaccinations daily, equivalent to 0.9
doses per 100 inhabitants. This is a more impressive rate than Germany, Italy,
France or even Britain says the SontagsZeitung. Only Israel and the US have
recently recorded a higher vaccination rate.
A fifth of
Swiss adults have so far been fully vaccinated with another third having
received one dose – some three million people combined.
The Swiss health ministry told the newspaper that a million doses of the Moderna vaccination arrived in Switzerland on Saturday with another 2.5 million doses from Moderna and Pfizer/Biontech expected next month.
Improvements
in vaccine supply are behind the increased vaccination rate, along with cantons
increasing the rate of first injections rather than hoarding supplies for
second doses.
The Federal
Office of Public Health is also planning a new information campaign aimed at
easing the fears of young women, who form one of the most sceptical groups in
the population.
The number
of new daily coronavirus infections fell this week to below 1,000 for the first
time since October and has remained below this threshold for several days.
On Monday,
May 31, pandemic restrictions will be eased further. This means that
restaurants and bars can serve people indoors, more cultural and leisure
facilities can open and people can gather in larger groups.
Source:
swiss news