National vaccination week starts early November, says paper
The Swiss government hopes this drive will boost the rate of vaccinated people in the population, which is currently below many other European countries.
Keystone / Gaetan Bally
A letter from the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) to the Swiss cantons gives details for the national vaccination week, which will start in early November, reports the Sonntagsblick newspaper.
This content was published on
2 minutes
swissinfo.ch/jc
Español
es
La campaña nacional de vacunación iniciaría en noviembre
“Berset’s troops will go door to door” with 17,000 anti-Covid counsellors, the paper writes on Sunday. Health minister Alain Berset has put his weight behind this plan, announced by the government on Friday.
More
More
Health minister puts faith in new Covid vaccination drive
This content was published on
Health minister Alain Berset says that if more people don’t get jabbed “we won’t be able to end this crisis”.
The FOPH aims to reach a vaccination rate of 93% among the over-65s and 80% among the 18-65 age group, writes Sonntagsblick, compared with an overall rate of under 60% at the moment. As well as counsellors, it will be deploying mobile vaccination buses to reach 50,000 inhabitants.
Medicine ‘not an alternative’
Lukas Engelberger, president of cantonal health directors, is also backing this vaccination drive, writes the Sonntagszeitung. He says a drug against Covid-19, which some pharmaceutical companies want to bring to market, is not an alternative to vaccination. Switzerland cannot afford to stop vaccinating on the pretext that a drug is on the horizon, he concludes.
The news of a drugExternal link that could halve the number of hospital admissions has caused a stir. In the SonntagsZeitung, the leader of the conservative Swiss People’s Party Thomas Aeschi calls for abolition of the compulsory Covid certificate. Some other politicians are also calling for the certificate – requiring full vaccination or recent testing – to be reconsidered if Covid-19 becomes less dangerous.
The Covid certificate has been compulsory since September 13 for access to indoor public places like bars, restaurants and museums, while many Swiss firms as well as educational institutions are also making it compulsory.
Swiss investigate four people linked to Russian oligarch
This content was published on
The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland is investigating four individuals linked to Russian oligarch Suleyman Kerimov.
Government resists pressure to extend free Covid testing
This content was published on
The government is sticking to its decision to end free Covid testing as of October 11. The money saved will go into a new vaccination push.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.