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HEALTH

Switzerland begins assessment of Oxford coronavirus vaccine

Swiss authorities have begun assessing AstraZeneca and Oxford University's Covid-19 vaccine -- the first such treatment submitted for authorisation in the country.

Switzerland begins assessment of Oxford coronavirus vaccine
A file photo showing coronavirus vaccine. Photo: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP

The vaccine is one of the most advanced Western efforts, having already been tested on tens of thousands of volunteers worldwide.

Switzerland's medical regulator Swissmedic said in a statement that the candidate vaccine had been submitted by the British-Swedish company earlier this month.

Swissmedic said it had “begun the scientific assessment” under a so-called “rolling submission” procedure, which allows pharmaceutical companies to submit applications for Covid-19 treatments before they have concluded development and without the complete supporting documentation.

READ: A Covid-19 vaccine could be made mandatory in Switzerland 

“This procedure speeds up the process of deciding whether to authorise medicinal products,” Swissmedic said, noting that it could scientifically assess non-clinical data from laboratory tests while clinical tests continue.

Trial results must be submitted to the Swiss authority as they become available, it added. European regulators are also evaluating early data from another coronavirus vaccine being developed by Germany's BioNTech and US giant Pfizer, those two firms said Tuesday, also under a fast-track procedure.

The “rolling review” is the second being conducted by the Amsterdam-based European Medicines Agency (EMA), as it already agreed to evaluate the vaccine being developed AstraZeneca and Oxford.

In normal times, pharmaceutical companies would complete their tests and compile all their findings before submitting them for review.

But scientists around the world are now racing to develop a safe, efficient Covid-19 treatment to end a pandemic that has killed more than a million people and devastated the global economy.

“It is our duty to ensure that while we are working to develop a potential vaccine at unprecedented speed to help address this pandemic, we do so with the highest ethical standards while adhering to sound scientific principles,” BioNTech CEO and co-founder Ugur Sahin said in a statement.

“We will continue to have regular and open dialogue with the EMA throughout the rolling review process.”

The potential BioNTech-Pfizer coronavirus vaccine uses technology based on mRNA, a type of genetic material never before used to make a vaccine.

READ: One in five Swiss in favour of compulsory coronavirus vaccination 

It is one of nine vaccine candidates to have advanced to late-stage human trials, known as phase 3 clinical trials, when they are tested on thousands of volunteers.

More than 37,000 people are enrolled in the BioNTech-Pfizer study in the United States, Brazil, South Africa and Argentina. More than 28,000 have recently received their second shot, the statement said. 

The EMA stressed that the decision to start an accelerated review “does not mean that a conclusion can be reached yet on the vaccine's safety and effectiveness, as much of the evidence is still to be submitted”.

BioNTech has previously said it aims to supply up to a 100 million doses by the end of 2020 if its vaccine is successful, and 1.3 billion doses by the end of 2021.

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HEALTH

The essential Swiss websites you need to use for health matters

If you just moved to Switzerland (or even if you have lived here for a while), your learning curve about health-related matters in the country may be steep. These sites will help you find the information you need.

The essential Swiss websites you need to use for health matters

Staying healthy is probably one of your top priorities, but doing so in a foreign country is not easy.

That is why having some reliable resources that you can check out and follow will be helpful.

First: The Local

No, we are not doctors, but we have published a number of factual articles over the years about many aspects of healthcare in Switzerland that our readers find helpful.

You can find a compilation of these health-related stories here

Federal Office of Public Health 

Obviously, when it comes to matters of health, the Health Ministry has lots of information that will be relevant to you at one time or another.

Aside from matters of health policy (which is important for all residents of Switzerland), the site also has a regularly updated Infectious Diseases Dashboard to let you know what communicable illnesses are currently circulating in Switzerland — and how to avoid them.

It also provides age-specific health information and recommendations — for instance, for children and teenagers, as well as for the elderly.

Hospital websites

Individual hospitals in your area are good sources of information as well, and many of them are in English.

You can find there general health information, care and treatment options, online emergency room signup, new medical technologies being used, and other patient resources:

Geneva University Hospitals (HUG)

Vaud University Hospital (CHUV)

Zurich University Hospital

Basel University Hospital 

If you live in an area without a university medical centre, your local hospital is also a valuable source of health-related information.

Appointment booking platform

This website is especially useful for people who don’t yet have a doctor in Switzerland but need to set an appointment with one. 

It gives you an option of choosing a specialty and location, and then displays doctor’s names and addresses, background information about them, and which time slots they have available.

You can easily set up an appointment this way.

Your health insurer’s website

This may not be an intuitive choice for impartial information about healthcare but you may be surprised.

For instance, Sanitas insurance site has information about emergency care decisions, and how to void unnecessary medical treatments.

CSS has health information geared specifically to men and women.

Helsana talks about ways to combat stress and sleep problems.

These are just a few examples on what valuable tips you can find on your insurer’s website.

Websites devoted to specific medical conditions

If you seek information about a specific illness — such as treatment options in Switzerland — there are plenty of online resources for that as well.

For instance:

Heart and cardiovascular 

Diabetes 

Osteoporosis 

Mental illness 

General pain 

Other diseases 

Last but not least, while not related to health, these websites will also provide useful information for international residents:

The Swiss websites that can help you save money
 
The most useful website resources to help you get Swiss citizenship 
 
 

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