Aargau and Solothurn boost from four months, child vaccinations from January
In the canton of Aargau, everyone can now register for a booster vaccination if their second vaccination was four months ago. In the canton of Solothurn, registration is possible from tomorrow Wednesday at the latest.
The canton of Aargau warns, however, that there will not be appointments before the end of the year for all those willing to vaccinate – even if the offer in vaccination centers and pharmacies is being expanded and the army and the Red Cross will help from January. By February, however, everyone who would like to receive a booster vaccination should receive a booster vaccination.
According to the authorities, there is a lack of staff in the canton of Solothurn. Vaccination options and vaccines have enough. That is why they are looking for additional staff for the vaccination centers in Selzach and Trimbach as soon as possible.
Children from 5 to 11 years of age will be vaccinated in Aargau and the Canton of Solothurn from January. In Aargau there will be special appointments for children in the canton hospitals of Aarau and Baden as well as in the Tivoli shopping center from the second week of January. Registration should be possible from the end of the year. In Solothurn there is talk of vaccination campaigns in January with paediatricians in the two vaccination centers. Registrations will be possible from the beginning of 2022.
Belinda Bencic fell ill with Covid-19
Belinda Bencic fell ill with Covid-19 despite having been fully vaccinated. Now, like last year, there is a risk of anything but optimal preparation for the Australian Open.
Belinda Bencic is currently in Abu Dhabi and tested positive there – like Rafael Nadal in the past few days. The best Swiss tennis player writes on Twitter that she has gone into isolation and is experiencing very strong symptoms such as fever, body aches and chills. Nevertheless, the Swiss athlete of the year plans to continue participating in the Australian Open.
Media conference ended
The media conference of the Canton of Zurich on the booster vaccination has ended. We will continue to inform you here in the ticker about the latest about the coronavirus.
Rickli: “85 percent of Covid patients in intensive care units are not vaccinated”
Natalie Rickli repeats a number from the hospitals. “85 percent of Covid patients in intensive care units are unvaccinated – let’s look at this number again.” With regard to the hospital staff, she continues: “It is untenable that everyone should suffer from the group of unvaccinated people and that the hospitals should be attacked.” They hope that the appeal to vaccinate will reach the rest of the population.
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Rickli: “It is untenable that everyone is suffering from the group of the unvaccinated and that the hospitals are attacking.”
Keystone
Almost 90 percent of intensive care units in the canton of Zurich are full
“In the intensive care units in the canton of Zurich, the IPS utilization is 88 percent,” says Jürg Gruber, Deputy Head of the Office for Health. The IPS utilization by Corona is 28.3 percent, 54 patients are Covid patients and 85 percent of them are unvaccinated. In general hospitalizations through Covid-19, the proportion of unvaccinated people is 71 percent.
“Even today, the hospitals are very heavily burdened,” says Gruber. Thanks to the vaccinations, the hospitals are stable at a very high level. However, the exceptional situation takes its toll on the hospital staff. “Because of staff failures, fewer IPS beds can be looked after.”
The hospitals in the canton are now very well organized. The treatment of Covid cases is very cost-intensive and involves a lot of effort.
Child vaccination comes in January 2022
Peter Indra: “The vaccine for children’s vaccinations will arrive in the canton of Zurich this year.” People in the canton prepared for it early on. Then you have to check the temperature of the vaccine. “We assume, however, that we will be able to administer these child vaccinations as early as January 3rd, from January 3rd.” This is done in the three EBP hospitals, in the children’s hospital, in Uster and in over 50 medical practices.
Infection numbers threaten to be even higher because of Omikron
“With the Omikron variant, there is a risk of infection rates that are even higher than before,” says Peter Indra, Head of the Health Office. The question is how Omikron will affect the sick – and the hospitals.
The vaccination against Omikron is less effective than against the Delta variant. The booster is therefore important to increase vaccination protection.
Who can boost? “We will contact you”
“We’ll get in touch with them,” says Rickli, with regard to who can already be boosted. The people would be notified. The Canton of Zurich welcomes the shortening of the deadline to four months. Tomorrow, Wednesday, the canton will add further dates for those with a five-month notice period. From January 1st, anyone who received the vaccination four months ago can also register for the booster vaccination. Shortening the time would be a major challenge for logistics, but additional vaccination offers would be created.
A third of those who were fully vaccinated were already boosted
Vaccination is important to maintain health care in Zurich. “Around 1.1 million people in the canton of Zurich have already been vaccinated”. That is around 80 percent of the people who have been able to vaccinate. Around a third of them have already been boosted. This is also thanks to the vaccination offer. “There are over 600 vaccination options in the canton of Zurich,” continues Rickli.
Rickli: “But I would like to call on you to persevere”
“Almost two years of the corona pandemic – and it’s not over yet,” says Natalie Rickli. That is a challenge for the population. Also for those who would have taken responsibility early and vaccinated. “But I would like to call on you to hold out.”
Natalie Rickli informs about the booster vaccinations in the canton of Zurich
We welcome you to the media conference with Government Councilor Natalie Rickli, Head of the Health Directorate, Dr. med. Peter Indra, Head of Health Office, and Jörg Gruber, Deputy Head of Health Office and Head of Supply Planning.
Carnival in Solothurn and Aargau canceled or reduced in size
In Solothurn there will be no carnival as usual in 2022 either. After 2021, those responsible will again cancel both large moves. Because of the corona situation and the restrictions of the federal government, the street carnival could probably not take place, according to a message from the carnival society.
Nevertheless, there should be an official carnival. The associations should have an exhibition on the squares of the Solothurn old town and the Guggenmusiken perform there. Other events such as masked balls are possible – the responsibility of the organizers.
In Olten the carnival committee canceled the carnival completely. With this decision one wants to give the groups involved a security, so the president. Around two months before the carnival, they would normally build and rehearse cars. Schnitzel banks in restaurants or smaller occasions are possible if the applicable rules are observed.
Also in Aargau Several larger carnival events have already been canceled, for example in Brugg. In Würenlingen It has long been clear that there will be a Guggen-Openair instead of a move. In Baden has not yet been officially decided. Since large events like the move are probably not allowed to take place, the carnival people are looking for smaller alternatives.
Thurgau starts vaccinations for children in January
In the canton of Thurgau, children can also be vaccinated against the coronavirus from January 5, 2022. The State Chancellery Thurgau announced that the vaccine from Pfizer / Biontech for 5- to 11-year-olds will be delivered to the canton by the end of the year.
A department is open for healthy children in the vaccination center in Weinfelden. According to the notification, registration for the child vaccination will be online from tomorrow, Wednesday , Link opens in a new windowpossible. Parents’ consent is a prerequisite for child vaccination.
End of the media conference
Thank you for your interest, the media conference in Bern has ended. The federal experts will provide information on the situation in the pandemic for the next Tuesday.
Is there enough vaccine for children?
From the beginning of the year, children aged 5 and over can also be vaccinated. A journalist wants to know whether there is any shortage of this specially dosed vaccine. “The vaccine will be available at the beginning of January and the parents who want to vaccinate their children will receive the vaccine,” says vaccination chief Christoph Berger.
Mathys: “We will need more IPS seats again”
The number of hospitalizations has been falling since December 6th, but the BAG emphasizes that the pressure on hospitals is high, says a journalist. How do that go together?
“The decline in the number of cases was not very large. Given the length of time patients spend on the wards, an increase in the number of people in the hospitals is to be expected. And as soon as the number of cases increases again – and we expect that – there will be more severe disease courses again, which will make more IPS places necessary, “explains Mathys.
Are the new measures not having enough effect?
Will the current new measures be enough or not, asks a journalist. “It remains to be seen whether the measures can relieve the pressure on the hospitals. It may well be that further measures will be necessary, ”says Mathys from the BAG.
This step-by-step approach is the only sensible one – in all of Europe. You just have to watch carefully and continuously how Omikron behaves.
Has the health staff already been boosted?
Is there a risk that healthcare workers could be absent because they too could become infected with Omikron and may not have been boosted yet?
He doesn’t know any specific figures, says Mathys. “However, there is a risk that health workers could become infected with Omikron, which could lead to staff shortages on wards.” Hauri adds that you can also work in quarantine with special protective equipment and as an ultima ration.
Why is there still no FFP2 mask recommendation?
Why is there no FFP2 mask recommendation, such a question, when Omikron is so much more contagious. Patrick Mathys from the BAG replies: “There is still no general recommendation. Evaluations of foreign data have also shown that the use of FFP2 masks has hardly any significant influence on the pandemic course. “
However, there are certainly situations where wearing an FFP2 mask makes sense. It is important, however, that it is used correctly.
When could the number of cases rise again?
“This year, the number of cases should increase rapidly again due to Omikron. Long-term forecasts beyond January are not reliable given the current level of knowledge about Omikron, ”replies BAG expert Patrick Mathys.