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HEALTH

Coronavirus vaccinations to start in Switzerland today

The first delivery of vaccines has already arrived in Switzerland. Vaccination will begin on Wednesday.

Coronavirus vaccinations to start in Switzerland today
Photo: Ina FASSBENDER / AFP

On Tuesday afternoon, the first delivery of coronavirus vaccines – 107,000 doses – arrived in Switzerland. 

While the official mass vaccination scheme is set to start on January 4th, some cantons will start the vaccination process as early as the 23rd of December. 

READ: When will coronavirus vaccinations start in your Swiss canton? 

Some, it has been revealed, will not start their vaccination campaigns until later – with Vaud, Nidwalden and Graubünden set to start on January 11th at the earliest. 

According to Swiss daily 20 Minutes, Appenzell Innerrhoden and Lucerne will start vaccinating high-risk individuals on Wednesday, December 23rd. 

Several other central Swiss cantons hope to start vaccinations on the same day as well, including Uri, Schwyz, Zug and Obwalden. 

EXPLAINED: What you should know about Switzerland's Covid-19 vaccination rollout 

 

What will be the rollout process throughout Switzerland?

Launching a vaccination programme “is extremely complicated logistically”, Swiss Health Minister Alain Berset said. 

This is due to the infrastructure that must be set up to store, distribute, and administer the vaccines.

“In recent months, we have prepared infrastructures with ultra-cold warehouses,” Aeschbach said.

“Once the vaccines are delivered, storage and vaccination will be the responsibility of cantonal authorities”. 

If necessary, the military will also provide ice to safely store the doses, as most locations don’t have specialised freezers needed to keep the highly perishable vaccines at extremely low temperatures.

The Pfizer vaccine, for instance, has to be kept at -80 degrees Celsius.

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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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