The move comes as vaccination rates stall across the country, despite there being plenty of vaccines available.
Last week around 60,000 corona jabs were being administered a day; at the campaign highpoint it was more than 90,000, the newspaper says. The target is 75-80% of the population being immunised.
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Swiss vaccination rate sees sharp drop in recent weeks
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The pace of vaccination in Switzerland has dropped sharply since mid-June, and the pool of people willing to be vaccinated may soon be exhausted.
Hospital figures for the canton of St Gallen published on July 8External link show that people from a migrant background have been more badly affected by the coronavirus: foreigners accounted for 38.6% of intensive care patients (they make up 24% of the cantonal population). Possible reasons: some migrants work jobs that do not allow working from home and a lack of access to information on the virus, the newspaper said.
Thomas Steffen, cantonal doctor for Basel City, told the newspaper that a lack of information (where to go and who pays) was also a factor in vaccination take-up among some groups of the migrant population.
Crucial phase
The Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) says the current phase in the vaccination campaign is crucial.
Adrian Kammer, head of campaigns at FOPH, told SonntagsBlick: “We need to step it up a notch again to remind young adults in particular that now is a good time to get vaccinated”.
FOPH has previously said that women, young people and those in rural areas are less likely to get the jab.
Kammer said that social media is an important channel for reaching the migrant population in particular. “Migration organisations are intensifying the FOPH campaignExternal link on their Facebook pages and cantons are sending out vaccination information via WhatsApp groups,” he told SonntagsBlick. In addition, information on jabs and hygiene measures has been translated into more than 20 languages.
FOPH has also been working with channels like Diaspora TV (which has programmes in eight languages) and other media to spread information about the vaccines. According to an article in Saturday’s Der BundExternal link, an aim will be debunking some of the rumours and false news about vaccine side effects.
Access to vaccinations for migrants must also be improved, said Andrea Feller, deputy head of the health department at the Swiss Red CrossExternal link.
“User tests have shown that many migrants who don’t know the local language well find it hard to register for the vaccine. The procedure is too complicated,” she told SonntagsBlick. Mobile vaccination centres and walk-in appointments would help solve the problem, she said.
Switzerland received more than 400 extradition requests last year
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Switzerland received 430 requests for the extradition of criminals last year, an increase of over a quarter compared to 2022.
Shell companies: Swiss want to make snail farming easier
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The Swiss parliament is calling on the government to amend legislation so that small-scale snail breeding facilities on farms can be authorised.
Swiss cheesemaker convicted of involuntary manslaughter
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A cheesemaker in Steinerberg has been charged with involuntary manslaughter after seven people died after eating listeria-contaminated cheese.
Swiss car camera uses AI to detect pedestrians 100 times faster
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A new type of car camera has been developed that will recognise obstacles 100 times faster than previous driver-assistance systems.
Switzerland ‘extremely concerned’ about spiralling violence in Middle East
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Switzerland has strongly condemned Hamas’ recent rocket fire on Israel and Israel’s attacks on a camp for displaced people in Rafah.
Switzerland may triple tuition fees for foreign university students
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Foreign students at ETH Zurich and EPFL may soon have to pay at least three times as much as Swiss students in tuition fees.
Female climate activists could report Switzerland to Council of Europe
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The KlimaSeniorinnen association (the Climate Senior Women) is urging the Swiss government to respect the European court’s recent decision.
Horizon Europe is partially open again to researchers in Switzerland
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With renewed negotiations with the EU Commission, and thanks to CHF600 million in federal funds, Swiss researchers can again apply for some grants.
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