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SWEDEN

Swiss stick with Swedish jets to replace fleet

The Swiss government is standing by its choice of the Gripen jet to replace its ageing fighter fleet, the defence ministry said on Tuesday, after reported military fears that the aircraft was not up to
the job.

Swiss stick with Swedish jets to replace fleet
Jamie Hunter/Saab AB

Defence Minister Ueli Maurer reaffirmed his preference for the Swedish-made Gripen which he said at a conference in Bern was the best value for money.

“The plane meets technical demands, even if it isn’t the most expensive aircraft on the market,” said Maurer.

The Federal Council announced in November its decision to purchase 22 Gripen for an estimated 3.1 billion francs ($3.4 billion), reportedly the cheapest of three offers.

French planemaker Dassault’s Rafale and the Eurofighter, produced by the EADS consortium, were the other bidders.

“The Gripen provides the best cost-performance,” said Maurer, who came under pressure after excerpts of a critical Swiss air force report appeared in the press at the weekend.

The 2009 assessment, published in Le Matin Dimanche newspaper, said tests carried out the previous year had shown the Gripen’s effectiveness “remains inadequate to achieve air supremacy in the face of future threats beyond 2015.”

Maurer was on Tuesday backed up by Swiss air force commander, Lieutenant General Markus Gygax, who told the conference that Saab were offering a modernised model, with improved performance.

The decision to select the Gripen is to be sent to lawmakers for final approval later this year.

Dassault has reportedly made a counter-offer undercutting the current deal, prompting Saab to review its price.

Maurer said the government had asked the French company to submit “a concrete offer” which Bern would then assess.

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NORWAY

Norway to send 200,000 AstraZeneca doses to Sweden and Iceland

Norway, which has suspended the use of AstraZeneca's Covid vaccine until further notice, will send 216,000 doses to Sweden and Iceland at their request, the Norwegian health ministry said Thursday.

Norway to send 200,000 AstraZeneca doses to Sweden and Iceland
Empty vials of the AstraZeneca vaccine. (Photo by GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP)

“I’m happy that the vaccines we have in stock can be put to use even if the AstraZeneca vaccine has been paused in Norway,” Health Minister Bent Høie said in a statement.

The 216,000 doses, which are currently stored in Norwegian fridges, have to be used before their expiry dates in June and July.

Sweden will receive 200,000 shots and Iceland 16,000 under the expectation they will return the favour at some point. 

“If we do resume the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, we will get the doses back as soon as we ask,” Høie said.

Like neighbouring Denmark, Norway suspended the use of the AstraZeneca jab on March 11 in order to examine rare but potentially severe side effects, including blood clots.

Among the 134,000 AstraZeneca shots administered in Norway before the suspension, five cases of severe thrombosis, including three fatal ones, had been registered among relatively young people in otherwise good health. One other person died of a brain haemorrhage.

On April 15, Norway’s government ignored a recommendation from the Institute of Public Health to drop the AstraZeneca jab for good, saying it wanted more time to decide.

READ MORE: Norway delays final decision on withdrawal of AstraZeneca vaccine 

The government has therefore set up a committee of Norwegian and international experts tasked with studying all of the risks linked to the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, which is also suspected of causing blood clots.

Both are both based on adenovirus vector technology. Denmark is the only European country to have dropped the AstraZeneca
vaccine from its vaccination campaign, and said on Tuesday it would “lend” 55,000 doses to the neighbouring German state of Schleswig-Holstein.

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