BERN - Manufacturers across Europe reported sporadic delays. The public health office says anyone who wants a jab should still be able to get one before the wave. Priority groups remain people aged 65 and over, younger adults with chronic illness or weakened immunity, and pregnant women. How hard the season hits, Fehr said, will depend on immunity in the population, which variant circulates, and the weather, as well as on how quickly the remaining doses land.
A quiet sentinel network, then the first cases
The picture shifted during October. On 12 October, RTS reported that Geneva University Hospitals' Christiane Eberhardt had seen no flu yet in the sentinel doctors who track respiratory illness, and pharmacists were still filling appointment books. A Jura pharmacist, Patrick Frein, said his shop had already booked more than 130 slots and had stocked up. By Monday, Fehr's reading was that the virus is no longer only theoretical. The practical advice from both is the same: earlier is better, because the peak is hard to time. Covid-19 is already moving. About 120 cases a week are being reported, more than in summer and fewer than in October 2025. Respiratory syncytial virus, a risk for infants and older people, is being watched and is still circulating at a low level.
What is on offer, and what is not
The first national vaccination week, 2 to 7 November, is going ahead. The second, 23 to 28 November, is the contingency for late boxes. A combined flu and Covid vaccine from Moderna has been authorised in Europe for people aged 50 and over. It is not in use in Switzerland. Two separate injections are still required, and they can be given on the same day. Clinics that ordered early, including staff programmes at the University of Zurich, have split their supply into two deliveries and moved some dates. Zurich and Geneva are also Switzerland's two reference centres for diseases such as Ebola. Officials had not named the receiving hospital by late morning. Monday's medical flight from Abuja is the kind of case those wards were built for.