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COVID-19

Can foreigners get Covid-19 booster shots in Switzerland?

People from abroad have tried to get their coronavirus shots in Switzerland. Is this allowed under Swiss law?

Published: 1 February 2021 18:12 CET
Updated: 15 December 2021 14:52 CET
Can foreigners get Covid-19 booster shots in Switzerland?
Some people from abroad have tried to get vaccinated in Switzerland. Photo by AFP

With Switzerland’s vaccine timetable ahead of some other European countries, some foreigners have tried to come to Switzerland to get vaccinated. 

The only foreign residents allowed to get their shots in Switzerland are cross-border employees who have Swiss health insurance.

Therefore, unless you have Swiss health insurance, you are ineligible to be vaccinated in Switzerland. 

READ MORE: Reader question: Can cross-border workers get vaccinated in Switzerland?

Foreign healthcare workers who are in contact with patients in Swiss hospitals can also get their vaccine in Switzerland, even without Swiss insurance.

Foreigners try to get vaccinated in Geneva

Early in the pandemic, some foreigners came in groups to get their shots in Geneva.

The cantonal vaccine platform can’t detect fraudulent information, so some ineligible foreigners get through, though many are turned away when they arrive for their appointment and have to show their ID and proof of Swiss insurance.

Paoliello said that a busload of people from Italy was turned away from one of the canton’s vaccination centres before they could get their shots.

“Vaccination tourism is not acceptable”, Paoliello said in an interview.

But some fraudsters do fall between the cracks.

For instance, two people from Italy whose children are based in Geneva, managed to get their vaccines.

“They should have been turned away”, Paoliello noted, adding that cheaters “will be billed for the vaccine retroactively”.

The shot is free for Swiss residents, cross-border workers, and qualifying health personnel.

What about vaccinating people from other cantons?

The Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) says that residents “are free to get vaccinated wherever we want. The vaccination is independent of the place of residence but if possible the two doses should be administered at the same place so that the second dose can be reserved”. 

However, in reality this guideline is often not followed, with patients coming from other cantons being told they should get inoculated in their place of residence.

The reason is that vaccine doses are currently in short supply in Switzerland due to delivery delays.

As each canton receives the number of doses in proportion to their population, local health authorities are reluctant to vaccinate those coming from outside their territory.

Paoliello noted that a number of people “engage in inter-cantonal vaccine tourism,” registering in two or more cantons simultaneously to boost their chances of getting the shot.

“We are at the limit, which calls for the individual and moral responsibility”, he said.

READ MORE:  Switzerland lines up fourth Covid-19 vaccine to help tackle pandemic

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COVID-19

What does the increase in the number of Covid cases in Switzerland mean?

Coronavirus infections are on the rise again, with Swiss health officials and epidemiologists expressing concern over the possible evolution of the disease.

Published: 15 November 2023 15:32 CET
What does the increase in the number of Covid cases in Switzerland mean?

While the worst of the Covid pandemic is long over, and experts don’t expect it to re-emerge with the same strength and health consequences as it had in 2020, new cases have been reported in the past weeks.

Wastewater analysis, one of the means employed by health officials to measure the presence of coronavirus, indicates a viral load that is at least five times higher than usual, with values “now almost as high as in some previous Omicron-related waves,” Christoph Ort, spokesperson for Eawag Institute, which traces Covid viruses in 14 wastewater treatment plants in Switzerland, told the media.

What does this mean?

According to Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), the most common sub-variant in Switzerland right now is the highly transmissible XBB, also known as ‘Kraken.’

The Eris and Pirola variants, which circulated in the summer and early fall are also still present.

While none is nearly as dangerous (at least for most people) as the early Alpha and Delta viruses, which claimed hundreds of thousands of lives in the early stages of the pandemic, there is a reason for concern nevertheless.

“It’s a start of a small wave,” said Rudolf Hauri, head of the Cantonal Doctors’ Association.

“More people are being admitted to hospitals again with, or because of, coronavirus. There are also new cases in intensive care units, but these are generally people with a medical history.”

Should you be worried?
 
While the number of people with serious Covid-related complications is not expected to be as high as previously, the rise in the number of infections should not be trivialised either, infectious disease specialists say.
 
This is especially important for people in the high-risk category — those over 65 or suffering from chronic illnesses — who can get quite sick if infected with the new variants, according to FOPH.
 
This is all the more important as the flu season is about to begin in Switzerland as well, and the confluence of both illnesses, plus other respiratory viruses that typically circulate during the winter, can be very risky.
 
What can you do to protect yourself?
 
Other than adopting the same protective measures as those during the pandemic — that is, washing hands, avoiding close contacts and crowded spaces, and wearing masks where needed — health officials also recommend top-up shots, for both Covid and flu.

READ ALSO: Who should get top-up Covid and flu jabs in Switzerland?

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