Politician Kurt Fluri has called for unvaccinated people who end up in a Swiss hospital with COVID-19 to be charged for the costs of their treatment.

Fluri aims to encourage vaccinations, rather than make them mandatory 

In an interview with Switzerland’s German-speaking press, Kurt Fluri proposed the idea to combat the number of unvaccinated people in the country. He went on to justify the idea, adding that in order for everyone to enjoy freedom and the economy to return to good health, each person (except those with medical exemptions) must be protected by means of vaccination. 

Fluri argued that those who have been given the opportunity to be vaccinated and have not come forward to do so. He says that these people are behaving in a negligent manner and should therefore not be covered by health insurance in the event of illness due to COVID-19. 

The politician also suggested ending free rapid antigen tests - a popular alternative that is used by many people who do not want to be vaccinated, in order to gain access to events and private venues that require proof of vaccination or negative test. 

These suggestions are being taken seriously by some of the country’s key health figures 

Fluri is by no means alone with suggestions on how to encourage vaccination. Alain Berset, Switzerland’s health minister, has already expressed interest in the idea of stopping free rapid antigen tests, especially for those who are taking tests several times per week, so that they can continue with their social life. 

However, since the vaccination programme is not yet complete, free rapid tests will most likely remain in place, especially because many (younger) people are still not able to be fully vaccinated, and it would therefore cause an unfair burden on young people.