The central Switzerland blood donation centres are warning that they are getting very low on blood reserves, in particular for types 0-, 0+ and A-. The reason behind this is mainly due to the pandemic and people being unsure whether they can donate their blood or not (for info both vaccinated and unvaccinated are eligible). For the time being, other blood banks in the country can come to the rescue but they desperately need more blood donors. Did you know that it is estimated that 80% of the population will require a blood transfusion at least once in their life? You can check whether you are eligible to give blood and book an appointment to donate blood here.
To date roughly 70% of the population is vaccinated against Covid-19, and just over 10 000 people have applied to receive compensation from the government for undesired side effects as a result of the vaccination. The majority of those cases wre quickly thrown out as they ranged from complaints about the vaccination hurting, or getting a headache, fever, or pain at the point of injection. About 100 are for more serious symptoms but, as most of the people have since recovered, they won’t stand much of a chance of receiving compensation. In any case, to date none of the cases have been proven to be directly linked to the vaccination, meaning that the chance of receiving any financial compensation from the government is close to nill.
Lucerne is planning to provide free sanitary products in primary and secondary schools so that girls can help themselves to sanitary towels or tampons when they are menstruating. A similar pilot project in Zürich proved to be very successful. The project will cost the town around CHF 30 000.- to set up and CHF 20 000.- yearly to provide the supplies.
It might still be uncertain whether we will be celebrating Fasnacht this February, but at the very least you can soak in the atmosphere by going to the train station and admiring the Fasnacht subjects hanging from the ceiling.
