“After a meticulous review of the available information, Swissmedic concluded that the Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer/BioNTech is safe and that its benefit outweighs the risks,”
-the body mentioned in a statement.
It is the initial vaccine against the new coronavirus that has been authorised for use in the wealthy Alpine nation.
“The safety of patients is an essential prerequisite, especially where the authorisation of vaccines is concerned,” mentioned Swissmedic director Raimund Bruhin.
“Thanks to the rolling procedure and our flexibly organised teams, we nevertheless managed to reach a decision quickly — while also fully satisfying the three most important requirements of safety, efficacy and quality.”
Switzerland, population 8.6 million, has secured about 15.8 million Covid-19 vaccine doses, in offers with 3 makers.
It has signed contracts for about 3 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, about 7.5 million doses of Moderna’s vaccine, and about 5.3 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
With all 3 manufacturers’ vaccines, two doses are expected per particular person.
With Covid-19 situations and deaths nonetheless increasing rapidly, the Swiss government announced Friday that restaurants and bars would be closed once more across the nation.
“The epidemiological situation is a cause of great concern,” the government mentioned in a statement.
“The number of infections is very high and is continuing to rise. Hospitals and healthcare workers have been under extreme pressure for weeks and the festive period increases the risk of an even more rapid rise in cases,” it explained.
Switzerland is continuing to witness more than 4,000 new situations and one hundred deaths each and every day.
Also Read: How Moderna’s COVID-19 Vaccine Compares To That Of Pfizer’s
In total, Switzerland has recorded more than 400,000 situations and almost 6,000 deaths due to the fact the get started of the pandemic.