[ad_1]
According to the Federal Office of Public Health, about 2.5 million doses of vaccines would be needed in the Corona year, but only a maximum of about two-thirds of this amount is available.
It was foreseeable that there would be very few flu vaccines in Switzerland. The fact that supplies are running low in mid-October is surprising and a problem. Because at-risk groups in particular are advised to get vaccinated against the flu in the Corona year.
Since we started offering the vaccine, we have been invaded.
The president of the Basel Pharmacists Association, Lydia Isler-Christ, does not beat around the bush: “We are being invaded.” They had been offering vaccinations at their pharmacy for a week. “In that first week we used as many cans as we used to do in a month. I also hear that from my colleagues, ”says Isler-Christ. At the moment, the offer has not yet been fully sold out, but it is already running out. There are no exact figures on stocks.
That is why it is highly recommended that patients at risk get vaccinated against influenza.
Enea Martinelli, a pharmacist for several regional hospitals in the Bernese Oberland and a specialist in non-deliverable drugs, is also looking at the bottleneck. “A good number of general practitioners called me desperately and asked for more supplies. Unfortunately I had to turn them all away. “Confirms that vaccines are already running out.
How could that happen?
The production of the flu vaccine was planned before Corona, as was the order. The production is time consuming and complicated, so it is not possible to start it now. In normal years, around 1.2 million people in Switzerland get the flu vaccine.
Switzerland has also ordered the same number of cans for this winter season, very few. According to the Federal Office of Public Health itself, it would take about double that, that is, 2.5 million doses of vaccination in the Corona year.
Small boost in December
Vaccine manufacturer “Sanofi” confirmed to SRF that another 500,000 doses of vaccine will be delivered to Switzerland in December. But even this extraordinary extra charge cannot meet the demand. Because that would only mean 1.7 million flu vaccines on the market.
We already have a waiting list.
Pharmacist Lydia Isler-Christ is already rationing flu shots. “For regular clients who belong to a risk group, I leave out a vaccine. I have to drop off clients walk-ins and put them on a waiting list. “
