The flu vaccination season begins
Flu is not always harmless: sometimes it leads to serious complications, as the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) writes. Vaccination is also recommended by the FOPH for people who have regular contact with poultry or wild birds.
According to the FOPH, flu vaccination is recommended for people with an increased risk of complications from the age of six months: This includes people with chronic conditions such as respiratory or heart disease, pregnant women, premature infants, and anyone 65 and older.
Vaccination is also recommended for all those who come into close professional or private contact with persons with an increased risk of complications. The FOPH therefore recommends vaccination in particular for people living in the same household, medical and nursing staff, and employees of daycare centers and nursing homes. This also included the relatives of infants under six months of age. Infants have an increased risk of complications, but cannot be vaccinated themselves, the FOPH writes.
Problem poultry
According to the information, vaccination is now also recommended for people who have regular contact with poultry or wild birds. This is to prevent a person from becoming infected with an avian flu virus and a human flu virus at the same time.
Timing and cost of vaccination
The best time to get vaccinated against influenza is from mid-October until the start of the flu epidemic. The FOPH advises making an appointment for the flu vaccination in good time, for example at a doctor's office or pharmacy.
For people with an increased risk of complications according to the FOPH vaccination recommendations, the flu vaccination is generally paid for by the mandatory health care insurance, provided the deductible has already been exhausted. All others pay for the vaccination themselves. Many companies offer the vaccination to their employees free of charge.
On the website www.schutzvordergrippe.ch you can find current and detailed information on flu vaccination.
Information on the Covid-19 vaccination can be found here.
New FOPH info portal on communicable diseases
The FOPH is launching a new information portal in the first half of November. It will provide a clear overview of the epidemiological development of communicable diseases in Switzerland. At the start, the portal will show the numbers of reported influenza and Covid 19 infections, as well as the numbers of other respiratory viruses. Until then, the figures would be published on the Covid dashboard or the FOPH website.
The FOPH will gradually expand the information portal to include other communicable diseases, as it concludes.
