SWITZERLAND [NEWS SERVICE] ⋅ A few days before the possible approval of the Moderna vaccine, Federal Councilor Berset visited the production site in Valais. He warned of the highly contagious mutated corona virus.
(of) The virus variant discovered in Great Britain is bad news for Switzerland, said Health Minister Alain Berset on Monday after a visit to the Lonza company in Visp, where part of the Moderna vaccine is produced. “If the measures remain the same, there will be more infections.” Stricter measures are therefore needed. The Federal Council will decide on Wednesday whether to tighten the screw again.
Berset said he was very concerned about the “dramatic situation” in Great Britain, which was developing “brutally”. Although almost everything is closed, the authorities have not managed to get the situation under control. The new variant is also already present in Switzerland and there is no reason to think that it will not spread very quickly and quickly in our country.
Well positioned with vaccination strategy
The Minister of Health considers it good news that the vaccination is now available sooner than initially thought. Switzerland is very well positioned in this regard. “We relied on good partners.” The good contacts between Lonza and Moderna would certainly have helped the federal government. Here in Visp he got the impression of a “highly competent team” with “high professionalism”.
Access to the vaccine is an important step, but it takes time. According to Berset, almost 1.2 million people in this country are to be vaccinated by the end of March.
Berset was cautious about the current corona situation in Switzerland. The numbers are pretty deceptive at the moment because it was difficult to interpret. The new infections would decrease slightly, but are still much too high. However, a sharp increase in the number of cases after the festive season has not yet occurred, Berset stated.
–
–
