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The Stüssi couple from Wetzikon received the first corona vaccine in the canton on Monday. The rare vaccination appointments are so popular that they were booked immediately and the online registration system crashed.
Mrs and Mr Stüssi from Wetzikon are the first in the canton to receive the coronavirus vaccine.
On Monday morning, three police cars parked in front of the Center for Travel Medicine at Hirschengraben 84 between Central and the University of Zurich. Police patrol and security guards. They do not have to intervene. Stay silent this morning when the first people in Zurich receive the Covid-19 vaccines. A young man politely asked an employee of the vaccination center in broken German when he could get vaccinated. You’re welcome to give your email address, then get in touch, the woman responds. Satisfied, the man moves on.
At 11.20am the time has come: Mr. and Mrs. Stüssi from Wetzikon are the first people in Zurich to be vaccinated against the corona virus. Ms. Stüssi takes her left arm out of her turtleneck, a nurse pushes her with a syringe into her upper arm, and presses the vaccine into the muscle. Cameras from the gathered crowd of photographers click. Then Ms Stüssi is sent to the waiting room with plasters on her arm, where she is watched for 15 minutes.
Vaccine registration should be easier
This first vaccination had been preceded by long preparations, and also by much emotion. A project team has been planning the largest vaccination campaign the canton has seen since September. The team had to pass the first test on December 30. The registration process began last Wednesday. The execution of rare appointments was so great that both the website for online registration and the doctor’s phone, which you can use to register by phone, were completely overloaded. The website registered more than 100,000 visits in the first hour after its launch, and the doctor’s phone received around 60,000 calls per hour. All 8,000 appointments were booked in no time.
How can I get vaccinated?
There are currently no vaccination appointments available in the canton of Zurich. On December 30, the first 8,000 appointments were quickly booked for a corona vaccination in the canton. They will not be activated any more until January 18. You can then register online via a link on the website of the Corona Center of the University of Zurich or by phone on the doctor’s hotline at 0800 33 66 55.
Currently, the only exception is made for high-risk patients: there is still a small free contingent for them in the canton. General practitioners decide who is eligible. At the moment, it is not clear when the vaccine will be available to the general public.
On social media, criticism quickly emerged over the record’s turbulent start. On Wednesday night, the health department apologized in a press release to the public for the inconvenience. And also on Monday, health director Natalie Rickli was self-critical. “Of course, the system should no longer collapse like this,” he said on the sidelines of the media event. They are very happy that the population is so willing to get vaccinated, but of course they want to make sure that the appointment record is as seamless as possible.
Rickli announced that the new vaccination dates for February would go live on January 18. Until then, the online tool should also be reviewed. The Federal Office of Public Health is testing the procedure in Geneva. The goal is that those interested in getting vaccinated can no longer make an appointment, simply register. They should then receive an appointment proposal by email. This way, anyone who wants to can sign up instead of trying to get one of the appointments.
Rickli urged the population to be patient. “At the moment we only have 16,000 doses of vaccines that are enough for 8,000 people.” You line up with availability. “Getting the vaccine is a matter for the federal government.” He did not want to have understood this as a criticism of the federal government, as he said when asked. The pandemic has taught us that the situation is constantly changing, so you have to be flexible and patient. But you can assure the population that everyone who wants to will get vaccinated. According to the current state of knowledge, a total of 56,000 doses of vaccines should be available in the canton by the end of this month.
In reality, the canton hoped that it would have to fight with an unwillingness to vaccinate rather than in a hurry. To shake the publicity drum, the governing council had chosen several celebrities as vaccination ambassadors, who were given injections in front of the media. These included writer Franz Hohler, actor Walter Andreas Müller, and entrepreneur Rosmarie Michel. Hohler said her decision to vaccinate was personal, but also community-based. “We are all caught in the trap set for us by the virus. Vaccination is one step out of this trap, we should do it. “
“We are all caught in the trap set for us by the virus. Vaccination is a step out of this trap, we must do it, ”explains Franz Hohler on Monday.
The campaign with celebrities had also been criticized beforehand. “Blick” cited readers who were upset that celebrities received preferential treatment. On the sidelines of the media event, Hohler said that, of course, it was not his goal to take someone’s place. Rather, you want to encourage people to get vaccinated. Because all the other measures that have been taken against the corona virus have so far failed. “I cannot avoid that there is little vaccine available. And I myself belong to the risk group. “
Michel, 90, said: “I want as many people in the economy as possible to register for vaccination. I see that in our employees: many are afraid of getting vaccinated. So it’s important for them to see that it works. “
After Michel, Robert Steffen, the founder of the Zurich vaccination center, also received the vaccine. For him, it was important to use scientific data to relieve the people of Zurich of their fear of vaccination. He is aware that there are certain concerns, also due to the case of the man from the canton of Lucerne, who died a few days after the Covid 19 vaccination, Steffen said: “If we vaccinate tens of thousands, they will always be vaccinated. two of them die. But they don’t die from the vaccination. “There were six deaths in the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine study. Four of the deaths were in the placebo group and only two in the vaccine group.
“It’s a bit of a shovel for the individual”
The Zurich Governing Council was present with three representatives: in addition to Rickli, the district president Silvia Steiner (cvp.) And the economic director Carmen Walker Späh (fdp.) Also spoke. Steiner said he couldn’t imagine a better start to the new year. “It is a minor shovel for the individual, but hopefully it will bring back a large part of our quality of life.” However, Steiner saw no reason for the euphoria. “We can only vaccinate as many people as we have available.” Therefore, patience and humility are needed.
And economics director Walker Späh added that today is a very good day for her. “The economy needs stability and security in planning, we are approaching this with vaccination.” A year ago, the economy in Switzerland was very strong. Now unemployment in the canton has risen from 2.4 to 3.3 percent in one year. “We were doing very well. Who would have thought that a year later we would be in the deepest recession? What do companies fear for their existence? She hoped, said Walker Späh, that this unprecedented crisis could be overcome with the help of vaccination.
Economics director Walker Späh added that today is a very good day for her.
Jan Fehr, the head of the vaccination center, explained the process. People who want to be vaccinated must bring their health insurance card, an identity card and, if available, their vaccination card. The vaccination center staff will inform you about the vaccination.
Two doses of vaccination are required for effective vaccine protection. The second vaccine can be given no earlier than 21 days after the first. The date of the second vaccination is set at the first appointment. At the Hirschengraben vaccination center, up to 600 people should be vaccinated per day. In the first few days, however, there will be a little less. According to those responsible, the process must first become familiar.
In mid-January, mobile teams will start vaccinating in homes for the elderly and the elderly. The general population will receive the vaccine from March or April. To this end, large vaccination centers are being created where 5,000 people can be vaccinated per day.
While the first residents of Zurich were vaccinated inside, the original of the city, Peter Lampart, waited in the cold Monday morning in front of the vaccination center with gleaming ear warmers. He too would like to be vaccinated, but like most of those interested, he has not been able to make an appointment. So he silently demonstrated in front of the vaccination center. The 70-year-old man, who suffers from several previous illnesses, had his vaccination brochure with him and a sign that read, “Does the long wait get me to Covid-19 heaven unnecessarily early?” Because Lampart is less than 75 years old and not one of the high-risk patients, he will probably have to wait a few more weeks to get the vaccine.
The Hirschengraben vaccination center.
