Switzerland approved its first Covid-19 vaccine on the weekend. The Biontech/Pfizer vaccine will already be rolled out this week in the canton of Lucerne. Four vaccination centres will be put into place, the largest will be at the Luzern Messe, then further ones in Willisau-Entlebuch, Sursee/nottwil and finally Hochdorf. The cantons from central Switzerland and Freiburg will be the first to offer the vaccine (23.12), the cantons of Basel-Stadt, Freiburg and Wallis will begin a few days later (28.12) all other cantons will start from January 4.
The government decided that the order of priority to get vaccinated is as follows:
- High risk people and people in retirement homes and the nursing staff will be first.
- Caregivers
- People with a high infection risk
- Finally anyone over 16 wishing to be vaccinated.
The goal is for everyone who wishes to be vaccinated to have had their shots by springtime.
10 000 Brits flew into Switzerland last Saturday, mainly to go skiing. This could prove to be a bad decision for two reasons. Currently only the ski resorts in the cantons of Bern, Graubunden, Freiburg and Wallis will remain open past tomorrow. More importantly Switzerland, along with many other countries, has now suspended all flights to and from the UK effective from yesterday. The reason? The new strain of the virus which has been found in London and the South of England. This strain of the virus is a highly infectious (up to 70% more so) than the previous strains. A similarly highly contagious new strain has been found in South Africa leading to the suspension of all flights there too.
Finally a bit of escapism, the Voice of Germany was won this year by a… 19 year old Swiss girl from Thurgau called Paula Dalla Corte, enjoy.
