Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

ZURICH

Thousands of vaccination appointments still available in Zurich in April

As at Thursday noon, 12,000 vaccination appointments - around one in eight of those available for the month - is still free in Zurich for the month of April. Health officials have called on those eligible to book a slot.

Published: 8 April 2021 14:41 CEST
Thousands of vaccination appointments still available in Zurich in April
Come on in - we're waiting... Photo: Tobias Schwarz / AFP / POOL

Zurich, Switzerland’s most populous canton, has been lagging behind the other cantons and the Swiss average when it comes to vaccinations. 

READ MORE: Why is Zurich’s vaccination rollout the slowest in Switzerland?

However it appears that part of the reason for the slow rollout is reluctance on the part of Zurich residents to get the jab. 

As at Thursday, April 8th however, 18,000 of the 90,000 appointments available for the month remain open. 

Even the opening of cantonal vaccination centres on the 6th has not sped up the process. 

As yet, only people in risk groups, health workers and those aged over 65 are eligible to get the jab. 

On Wednesday, Federal councillor and Zurich Health Director Natalie Rickli called upon the public to fill the slots – just days after complaining to federal Health Minister Alain Berset that the canton had not received enough vaccine doses. 

Rickli said went on Twitter to tell the canton’s seniors to take one of the free appointments.  

“Dear over-65s, there are still 18,000 free vaccination appointments in April,” Rickli wrote. 

The appeal was partially effective, with around a third of the vacant slots being filled after she went public. 

UPDATED: Here’s how to register for the coronavirus vaccine in Zurich

However, as at noon on Thursday, around 12,000 appointments still remain for April. 

Registration has been opened to the general public since March 29th. 

Cantonal authorities told Swiss news outlet 20 Minutes that they were not concerned, saying the projection was broadly in line with their estimates. 

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