BFF-31 Swiss start Covid-19 vaccinations

170

ZCZC

BFF-31

HEALTH-VIRUS-SWITZERLAND-VACCINES

Swiss start Covid-19 vaccinations

GENEVA, Dec 23, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Switzerland started its Covid-19 vaccine rollout on Wednesday, with a care home resident in her 90s becoming the first person in the country to receive the jab.

The woman, who lives in the Lucerne region in central Switzerland, was given the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, just four days after it was approved by national regulators.

“I am very satisfied that we have now been able to start vaccinations in the canton of Lucerne,” the region’s health services chief Guido Graf said in a statement.

“These vaccinations are an important element in the fight against the coronavirus.”

The European Union, of which Switzerland is not a member, is scheduled to start vaccinations on December 27.

BSS/AFP/FI/ 1647 hrs