Switzerland orders 14 million Covid-19 vaccines for 2023

Keystone / Pablo Gianinazzi

Switzerland is buying at least 14 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine for 2023, in order to provide for its population of 8.7 million “under all pandemic scenarios”.

Seven million of the jabs will be purchased from the Moderna company and seven million from Pfizer/BioNTech, the government wrote on FridayExternal link.

An option to buy seven million further doses from each manufacturer, to be activated “only if needed”, has also been agreed. Up to one million doses of a non-mRNA vaccine will also be purchased from another (unnamed) manufacturer.

The government says the goal is to ensure the supply for the public “under all pandemic scenarios”, but it did not go into detail about what such scenarios might look like. Surplus vaccines would be sold on or given away, it said.

For 2022, a total of 34 million vaccines are yet available for the Swiss population of 8.7 million, the government said in February – this is more than enough, even in the event of another booster campaign.

Currently some 69% of the entire Swiss population is fully vaccinated; for the population over the age of 12 this figure climbs to 78%. Just under 42% have received a third booster dose.

High case numbers

The pandemic situation in Switzerland is currently one of almost record-high new daily case numbers, but low hospitalisations and deaths. On Friday 32,087 new cases were recorded, with a test positivity rate approaching almost 50%.

Earlier this week, Interior Minister Alain Berset told journalists that the recent hike in cases was to be expected (given the dropping of almost all remaining pandemic restrictions last month) but there was no cause for alarm, as the situation in hospitals was under control.

Two measures remain in place: the wearing of hygiene masks in public transport and a five-day isolation period for those who test positive for Covid. The government intends to lift them at the end of March.