Switzerland Withdraws Recommendation for COVID-19 Vaccination

The Swiss Office of Public Health has updated their recommendations for COVID-19 vaccination. The official document is available only in the following languages:

The following was created by Google Translate from the German document.

The key section, from the English translation, is as follows:

Vaccination recommendation for the Covid-19 vaccination in spring/summer 2023

Corona Immunitas seroprevalence data (June/July 2022) show that more than 98% of the Swiss population have antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. Due to the immunity situation, the currently predominant virus variants and the expected low virus circulation in spring/summer 2023, it can be assumed that people without risk factors have a very low risk of becoming seriously ill with Covid-19 in spring/summer 2023.

For this reason, no recommendation for vaccination against Covid-19 is formulated.

FOPH and EKIF only recommend vaccination for persons at particularly high risk (BGP) from the age of 16 if the attending physician considers it to be medically indicated in the individual case given the epidemiological situation and a temporarily increased protection against serious illness can be expected .

In the event of an emerging SARS-CoV-2 wave, vaccination against Covid-19 would be recommended for BGP. In this case, BAG and EKIF would update the recommendation accordingly.

The recommendations apply regardless of the type and number of vaccination doses already received and the number of SARS-CoV-2 infections that have occurred.

This withdrawal of the recommendation for vaccination has two consequences. First, only recommended vaccinations are paid for by the Confederation: without a recommendation, costs are borne by the patient or their health insurance. Second, the shield against physicians’ liability for adverse consequences from vaccination only applies to recommended vaccinations. With no recommendation, the usual liability rules apply.

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