Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

COVID-19

Three things the Swiss civil protection service does during the coronavirus pandemic

Here's a short guide to some of the actions Switzerland's civil protection service are taking during the coronavirus crisis.

Published: 6 April 2020 23:00 CEST
Three things the Swiss civil protection service does during the coronavirus pandemic
Civil protection member stands in front of a hospital tent. Photo by Zivilschutz

The role of Switzerland's civil protection service is to offer support to the military in emergency situations or natural disasters.

During the coronavirus outbreak, they will help the army hospital battalions that were deployed  in March, to carry out a “special service towards the security and protection” of the Swiss public.

Currently about 5,000 of the civil protection members are mobilised by the government to help the soldiers who have been deployed in the fight against the spread of coronavirus.

The major task of the civilian service is to help with the logistical, non-medical issues experienced by hospitals and other medical institutions during the pandemic.

They help set up tents outside the hospitals, which are used to screen and test potential Covid-19 patients, help transport patients and equipment, and install new hospital units where needed. 

Members of civil protection go from hospital to hospital, distributing essential supplies and sanitary materials such as masks and disinfectants, to medical personnel. 

In nursing homes for the elderly, civil protection members are often stationed at the entrance, where they monitor the traffic and ‘filter’ everyone who comes in. They measure the temperature of incoming staff and give them face masks.

They also relieve employees who are overwhelmed by the additional duties by distributing meals, reading to the most incapacitated residents, and taking them for walks.

 

 

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

COVID-19

Public Health Agency recommends two Covid doses next year for elderly

Sweden's Public Health Agency is recommending that those above the age of 80 should receive two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine a year, once in the spring and once in the autumn, as it shifts towards a longer-term strategy for the virus.

Published: 23 December 2022 10:53 CET
Public Health Agency recommends two Covid doses next year for elderly

In a new recommendation, the agency said that those living in elderly care centres, and those above the age of 80 should from March 1st receive two vaccinations a year, with a six month gap between doses. 

“Elderly people develop a somewhat worse immune defence after vaccination and immunity wanes faster than among young and healthy people,” the agency said. “That means that elderly people have a greater need of booster doses than younger ones. The Swedish Public Health Agency considers, based on the current knowledge, that it will be important even going into the future to have booster doses for the elderly and people in risk groups.” 

READ ALSO: 

People between the ages of 65 and 79 years old and young people with risk factors, such as obesity, diabetes, poor kidney function or high blood pressure, are recommended to take one additional dose per year.

The new vaccination recommendation, which will start to apply from March 1st next year, is only for 2023, Johanna Rubin, the investigator in the agency’s vaccination programme unit, explained. 

She said too much was still unclear about how long protection from vaccination lasted to institute a permanent programme.

“This recommendation applies to 2023. There is not really an abundance of data on how long protection lasts after a booster dose, of course, but this is what we can say for now,” she told the TT newswire. 

It was likely, however, that elderly people would end up being given an annual dose to protect them from any new variants, as has long been the case with influenza.

SHOW COMMENTS