Swiss officials: Covid vaccine protects for 12 months
A man receives a plaster after getting his jab in Bern
Keystone / Peter Klaunzer
Coronavirus vaccines could offer at least 12 months of protection against all forms of the virus, a top Swiss health official says. This increases the former official line of six months of protection.
The Federal Vaccination Commission has concluded that people are protected for at least a year against infection – and more than that against severe cases, said Virginie Masserey, head of the Federal Office of Public Health’s Infectious Diseases Section, at a press conference on Tuesday.
It will therefore not be necessary to have a booster jab before 2022, she added.
Ordinances on the issue will be changed to reflect this change of view.
More than half of adults have already received at least one dose of the vaccine, Masserey explained. This rises to at least 80% for vulnerable groups. The vaccination campaign is proceeding well, with around 100,000 vaccinations a day, the official said. There are no indications that vaccine willingness is dropping off.
Covid certificate
The development of the forgery proof Covid certificate is also going well, with more than 650,000 already sent out, Masserey said. “We are confident that all those who want can have access to a certificate by the end of the month,” she said. This is to be given to anyone who has been vaccinated, has recovered from or has recently tested negative for coronavirus. The validity length of the certificate would also be changed due to the protection advice change.
Trend, variants
Meanwhile downward trend in case numbers is continuing. There were 243 reported Covid-19 casesExternal link on Tuesday, 14 hospitalisations and two deaths. New infections have stayed below 1,000 since May 26.
Masserey added that until now the number of cases linked to new variants of the coronavirus like the Delta variant were relatively low. Vaccines were also effective against these variants, but people still had to be careful as not everyone had yet been vaccinated, she added
More
More
Coronavirus: the situation in Switzerland
This content was published on
An overview of the latest Covid-related information in the Alpine nation.
Holcim selling business in Nigeria to Chinese cement group
This content was published on
The Swiss cement manufacturer Holcim wants to sell its shares in the Nigeria-based Lafarge Africa PLC Group to the Chinese cement manufacturer Huaxin Cement. The sale price is one billion dollars on a 100 percent basis.
This content was published on
The Swiss Scout Movement has been recognised for its achievements in promoting tolerance, respect and living together in peace.
This content was published on
Compulsory tipping does not meet with unanimous approval among the Swiss. More than two-thirds do not want to include tipping in the price of their food.
This content was published on
Electric cars are still a rarity in Switzerland. Currently, 4.1 percent of registered cars run exclusively on electricity. There are some major differences between the cantons, as the Energy Reporter from Energie Schweiz and Geoimpact shows.
Black Friday gets off to a slow start in Swiss shops
This content was published on
Black Friday has established itself as one of the biggest shopping events in Switzerland in recent years. On Friday, however, business was rather slow, especially in the stores.
This content was published on
US-based biotech company Moderna is applying for the use of its Covid-19 vaccine for adolescents aged 12 to 17 in Switzerland.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.