Recommended Covid-19 vaccinations will remain free in Switzerland in 2023, including for residents and cross-border workers not subject to compulsory health insurance, according to government measures adopted on Friday.

“Vaccination is a central element in the fight against the pandemic, offering good protection against severe forms of the disease and preventing hospitalisation,” said the Federal Council in a press releaseExternal link.

It also decided to continue to sell unused vaccine doses to other countries in 2023. According to this strategy adopted in February 2022, a maximum of 13 million doses in the year can be sold or transferred if they are not used in Switzerland.

The Alpine country has already donated millions of doses and some have expired because of a supply glut. It announced in February, for example, that it would donate up to 15 million shots in the first half of 2022 to the COVAX initiative for equitable vaccine distribution.

A new wave of coronavirus infections and hospital admissions emerged in Switzerland in September; numbers have since stabilised at a high level. A total of 16,362 new Covid cases were reported on December 13 for the previous seven-day period, down 12% on the previous week. Health officials nonetheless say there are a high number of unreported new infections.

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