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Where do you get vaccinated now? And which celebrities were allowed to get vaccinated first?
It didn’t work without a touch of “Glanz & Gloria”, at least not in Zurich: actor Walter Andreas Müller and writer Franz Hohler were among the first to be vaccinated on Monday in the most populated canton. As role models, they should encourage others. With Zurich, about a dozen cantons officially started vaccinating on Monday. Starting this week, vaccinations will be carried out in practically all the cantons. Bern only starts on January 11.
Who and how is vaccinated?
This differs from one canton to another. While vaccination centers have started operating in Basel-Stadt and Baselland or in Zurich, other cantons are currently concentrating on sending mobile teams to nursing homes. In a first step, people over 75 years of age and those with serious pre-existing diseases are vaccinated.
How did you get off to a successful start?
Anything but soft. Immunization software purchased by the federal government creates problems. Several cantons, such as Aargau, Solothurn or Thurgau, are not using it at the moment, because it is not yet operational. Some of the cantons are now working on their own solutions. In other places, the software was overloaded when it was first used, specifically in Zurich. Also criticized is the Federal Office of Public Health (BAG), which did not award the contract for the vaccination software until December 17.
The federal government and the cantons had known for months that they needed vaccination software. Why didn’t you take care of it earlier?
Sang-Il Kim, head of BAG’s digital transformation department, writes on request that they have been in contact with vendors since September. But it was always clear that the vaccination strategy and recommendations needed to be defined so that the software could support the process. The vaccination strategy was only available in early December, the recommendations even later.
What about preparation for vaccination?
The rush for appointments, which were made over the Internet or over the phone, was great. However, no conclusions can be drawn from this because the vaccine and therefore the time frames are very tight.
The Pfizer / Biontech duo vaccine must be shipped frozen. In the picture: The first delivery received by the Baden Cantonal Hospital on December 29, 2020.
© Britta Gut
How much vaccine does Switzerland currently have available?
Currently, only the vaccine from the Pfizer / Biontech duo is approved. In December, 107,000 cans were delivered. Starting this month, another 250,000 will be added, and the first fortnight of January cans will arrive on Monday. Because two vaccines are required for effective protection, the Pfizer / Biontech vaccine will last about 178,500 people by the end of January, and not too far away. Because there are around 756,000 people over 75 in Switzerland, around 1.6 million over 65 and around 620,000 under 65 with previous illnesses.
How many cans has the federal government ordered in all?
Switzerland has so far signed contracts with three vaccine manufacturers. The Pfizer / Biontech duo will deliver about 3 million cans, the federal government will receive 7.5 million from Moderna and about 5.3 million from Astrazeneca. In total, there are 15.8 million doses, with which 7.9 million people can be vaccinated. As with Pfizer and Moderna, studies with the Astrazeneca vaccine show that two full doses provide the best protection.
The economy also criticizes the slow start of vaccination. “It can’t go fast enough,” said Rudolf Minsch, chief economist at the Economiesuisse business association of “NZZ am Sonntag.” Does everyone see it that way?
No. Trade association director Hans-Ulrich Bigler describes the debate as contentious. «I do not understand the criticisms of Economiesuisse. As soon as vaccination begins in Switzerland, the criticism begins. I think that’s out of the question. ”After all, this is a great logistical exercise. So it is clear that at first it will be some time before the vaccination campaign actually begins. As soon as new vaccines arrive, the Action will accelerate. The trade association expects the campaign to be completed by late June or early July at the latest, Bigler says. This will prevent travelers from bringing the virus back on their return. That’s a sports schedule, but doable.
With 7.5 million doses, Switzerland has ordered the most vaccines from the American biotech company Moderna. When is approval expected?
Moderna expects to receive Swiss approval early this year. The company does not want to be more specific. The head of the company, Stéphane Bancel, said in an interview with “CH Media”: If approval is granted in January, the first cans will be delivered in January. The licensing authority Swissmedic, in turn, says that the data and responses submitted by pharmaceutical companies to date have been verified and evaluated. But: “The data we have to date on safety, efficacy and quality is not yet sufficient for approval,” says a spokesperson. As soon as the data is correct, further requests can be resolved in a timely manner. Informed sources say that, at best, admission can be expected by weekends or mid-January.
In the United States, Moderna received preliminary clearance for the vaccine in mid-December. When will it happen in Europe?
The Human Medicines Committee of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) originally announced that it would meet on Wednesday. The first meetings have already taken place today, as an EMA spokesperson says, according to the British newspaper “The Guardian”. Therefore, the committee could make a positive recommendation tonight. If the committee gives the green light, the EMA should grant approval for the Moderna vaccine within a few days.
Britain has changed its vaccination strategy. Originally, the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine was to be given three weeks after the first dose. Now the British government says the time frame could be up to twelve weeks. What is to be done with it?
Several experts view this critically. This includes prominent American virologist Anthony Fauci. “If we wait 50 or 70 days instead of 28, then we don’t know if that’s good enough,” he said on the US talk show “Meet the Press” on Sunday. It’s clear “what science tells us,” says Fauci. “We must proceed with the vaccination as it was done in the clinical studies.” These were designed in such a way that the second dose of the Pfizer product was vaccinated after 21 days. With the Moderna vaccine, this was the case after 28 days.
