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“We are going in the right direction, but unfortunately there is still a little problem with the pace.” This is how Patrick Mathys, head of the crisis management and international cooperation section of the Federal Office of Public Health (BAG), sums up the current situation in the crown.
The BAG recorded 1,884 new corona cases on Tuesday, about 17 percent less than the same day a week ago. 92 people had to be admitted to the hospital and 57 corona-infected people died.
“They are cautiously optimistic”
This development is “cautiously optimistic,” Mathys says at Corona’s press conference today. However, there is still no reason to sit back and relax. The intensive care units are still very busy. Almost a third of the people lying there are Covid patients, according to Mathys.
FOPH also remains concerned about variants of the mutated virus: 1,126 infections with the mutant virus have already been detected in Switzerland, and a good half of them are definitely due to the British variant of the virus.
The proportion of British mutants increases
The share of the British mutation in the total number of coronavirus infections is currently ten percent. Working group chair Martin Ackermann estimates that mutated variants will account for around half of all infections in Switzerland by March at the latest.
That is why it is extremely important to press the numbers as quickly as possible. This in order to have enough air in case the number of cases spiked suddenly due to the mutant virus. Mathys cites a maximum of 300 new infections per day as a specific target value.
The cantons have to slow down vaccination
Vaccination plays an important role in this regard. But currently things are not going as fast as planned. Due to delays in delivery of the Pfizer / Biontech vaccine, the cantons have to reduce their vaccination speed rather than change gears. The canton of Zug announced today that certain dates that have already been agreed for the first dose of vaccination should be postponed for a week due to lack of vaccine.
In Zurich, appointments would have to be canceled, Markus Näf, director of the Covid 19 vaccination project in the canton of Zurich, said at a press conference. Also, older people have to wait a week longer than expected to receive the second dose of the vaccine.
The delivery problem is only temporary
Nora Kronig, deputy director of BAG and responsible for the procurement of vaccines, is very cautious about this. She emphasizes that Switzerland is only getting fewer vaccines temporarily. The slowdown should pick up in mid-February. It does not comment on ongoing negotiations with other vaccine manufacturers such as AstraZeneca.
If cantons should withhold fifty percent of the vaccine to have enough for the second dose of vaccine needed in reserve, Kronig makes no recommendation either. The cantons could organize themselves however they wanted.
But what if a canton accelerates to full throttle and suddenly has too little vaccine to inject the second dose within the specified period, which is necessary for effective vaccine protection? According to Kronig, the BAG is in contact with cantons that could be affected by such bottlenecks. In an emergency, you need to check what you can do in such a situation, Kronig says vaguely. (lha / SDA)
