Source: ChildrensHealthDefense.org
In a move that shifts liability for COVID-19 vaccine injuries from the government to physicians, Switzerland said it is not recommending COVID-19 vaccines for spring and summer, even for those people considered to be high risk.
Switzerland is the latest European country to stop recommending the COVID-19 vaccine for the general population.
A new set of guidelines issued by the country’s Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) and Federal Commission for Vaccination does not recommend the vaccine for individuals, including those considered at high risk, for the spring and summer seasons.
According to Medical Daily, Swiss medical authorities cited the high level of immunity in society, either via vaccination or natural immunity, as the basis for their new recommendations.
“In principle, no COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for spring/summer 2023,” the FOPH said. “Nearly everyone in Switzerland has been vaccinated and/or contracted and recovered from COVID-19. Their immune system has therefore been exposed to the coronavirus.”
Swiss seroprevalence data from mid-2022 indicates more than 98% of the country’s population had developed antibodies against COVID-19, The Epoch Times reported.
According to Swiss Info, “In Switzerland, about 70% of the population have had at least one COVID [vaccine] dose, a figure that has barely moved over the past year. Only 11.5% got a booster jab in the past six months.”
Swiss public health officials also said data indicate COVID-19 will circulate less this year, with newer variants that cause milder illness than previous strains.
The decision to not recommend the vaccines will be reevaluated for the autumn and winter seasons, according to public health authorities. Medical Daily reported that the new recommendations would be “adjusted if a new wave of infection were to emerge.”
Liability for vaccine injuries shifts to doctors
According to Swiss outlet Report 24, as per the new recommendation, doctors can only administer the COVID-19 vaccines on a case-by-case basis and under certain conditions.
Medical Daily, citing the FOPH, reported that high-risk individuals, including those 65 and older, the immunocompromised and pregnant women, can still receive a COVID-19 vaccine, but only after an individual consultation with their doctor.
When a vaccine is recommended, it is advised that it be administered at least six months after the last vaccination or last-known COVID-19 infection.
The FOPH further advised:
“Even particularly vulnerable people are currently not recommended a COVID-19 vaccination. However, you can get a vaccination after individual consultation with your doctor.
“Vaccination may be wise in individual cases, as it improves protection against developing severe COVID-19 for several months. This applies regardless of the number of vaccinations you have already received.”
However, the FOPH also noted that the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines against current variants is diminished and short-lived, especially in individuals who are considered at-risk, according to Report 24.
The FOPH also found that the adaptation of mRNA vaccines has not kept pace with the evolution of new COVID-19 strains.
The new recommendations also have important implications relating to issues such as payment for the vaccines and vaccine-related liability.
“By no longer recommending the vaccines, this would mean that vaccination is not covered by the government anymore,” Medical Daily reported. “Non-high-risk individuals who want to get the vaccine or the booster would have to pay for it.”
For high-risk individuals advised to be vaccinated, health insurance would cover the cost of vaccination.
Under the new recommendations, there is a shift in vaccine-related liability as well. According to guidelines implemented by the FOPH on Nov. 29, 2022, the Swiss government provides compensation to vaccine-injured individuals only in cases where the vaccination is recommended by public health authorities.
As a result, liability now shifts to the doctors administering the vaccines. According to Report 24, this “should mean that their willingness to vaccinate will decrease significantly.”…