38 percent of people aged 12 to 17 have registered for a vaccine in Switzerland, only one week after vaccinations were approved for the age group.
New data released by Canton Bern has shown that 38 percent, or 23.000 people aged between 12 and 17 have booked a COVID jab in the canton. The city of Basel has seen similar numbers registering, with many families choosing to vaccinate their children after the school holidays.
The Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), who approved the new recommendations last Monday, reported a 14 percent increase in the number of young people getting vaccinated, the highest rise of any age group. A spokesperson for Canton Bern said that "these numbers are so far pleasing and will certainly increase."
The government had been reluctant to recommend vaccination for those under the age of 17, choosing instead to balance the risk of vaccination with the risk of serious illness from COVID. However, with the rise of the Delta variant, Nau reported that the scales pointed heavily towards vaccination.
Experts from the FOPH noted that the new strain was "as contagious as chickenpox," with the latest figures showing that over 98 percent of confirmed cases in Switzerland are from the Delta variant. Alongside the new rules, many counties (cantons) have begun new campaigns to vaccinate more people. Canton Zurich and the city of Aarau have begun to use mobile vaccination clinics in public places and schools to encourage people to get the jab.
The Swiss government hopes that increasing vaccination rates will remove the need for tighter restrictions, such as the proposals for COVID certificates. Multiple demonstrations have taken place over the weekend against new restrictions, and with schools returning, winter on the way and the COVID laws being put to a referendum in November, the FOPH hopes that vaccinations will prevent more cases and restrictions.