Switzerland destroys 19 million Covid-19 vaccine doses
Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Switzerland has destroyed 18.6 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines that have expired. This represents more than the number of jabs that have been administered countrywide, a parliamentary committee reported.
In its annual report published on Tuesday, the House of Representatives Management Committee noted that the destruction of more Covid-19 vaccine doses will be unavoidable. Since last March, 8.2 million doses have been destroyed. The Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) gave the statistics to the committee for its investigations into the Swiss government’s vaccination strategy, which are listed in the report.
Between December 2020 and the end of July 2023, 17 million Covid-19 vaccine doses were administered in Switzerland.
The parliamentary committee deplores the fact that the implementation of the Swiss vaccine procurement strategy has resulted in the destruction of so many vaccines bought by the federal authorities. But it believes that this was an inevitable consequence of the government’s strategy.
The Federal Council has presented the arguments for this strategy in a transparent and credible way, the committee said. On various occasions, it explained that it had always attached greater importance to rapid access to a sufficient number of doses than to the risk of ending up with too many vaccines.
In view of the potential social and economic consequences of an insufficient supply, this approach was appropriate, the committee concludes.
In the event of a future pandemic, the committee expects the government to communicate transparently within the federal administration and to parliament on the management of vaccines. Any supply strategy should be reviewed regularly, and the management of surplus doses must be defined in advance.
The committee also stressed the crucial importance of international cooperation on supply. Switzerland has played an active and successful part in the World Health Organization (WHO’s) COVAX programme: a total of almost eight million doses, including 3.8 million in 2023, have been donated to other countries. Conversely, cooperation with the European Union has not been easy.
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. You can find them here.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
Joya Marleen and Baschi named best solo acts at Swiss Music Awards
This content was published on
St. Gallen singer Joya Marleen and Baschi from Basel were named artists of the year at the Swiss Music Awards 2024 on Wednesday night.
Swiss authorities announce cost-cutting in asylum sector
This content was published on
The government notably wants to improve integration into the labour force, particularly for people with protection status S.
Various leaders confirm participation at Ukraine peace conference
This content was published on
The presidents of Poland, Finland, and Latvia and the prime ministers of Spain and Belgium will be at the Swiss-hosted talks in mid-June.
This content was published on
In the winter season up to April 2024, railway and cable car operators ferried 3% more visitors compared to the previous winter, and 5% more than the five-year average.
Rhine flooding: Swiss to invest CHF1 billion with Austria
This content was published on
As part of an international agreement with Austria, the Swiss government wants to pump CHF1 billion ($1.1 billion) into flood protection measures along the Rhine over the next three decades.
Swiss government proposes CHF10 million UNRWA donation
This content was published on
After months of debate, Switzerland plans to give CHF10 million ($11 million) to the UN agency this year, rather than the CHF20 million initially foreseen.
Swiss study: insects mainly migrate at midday and dusk
This content was published on
A study led by the Swiss Ornithological Institute in canton Lucerne is helping to better understand the movement patterns of migratory insects.
Red Cross: 22 staff killed in Middle East since October
This content was published on
The Red Cross and Red Crescent network in Gaza and Israel has lost 22 staff members since last October, the Swiss Red Cross (SRC) said on Wednesday.
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.