Switzerland recommends COVID-19 booster shots for over 65s, but not general population

FILE PHOTO: A health worker draws Moderna coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine into a syringe inside the COVID-19 Impftram vaccination tram during a media presentation in Zurich, Switzerland September 14, 2021. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo

Switzerland said on Tuesday it was recommending COVID-19 booster shots for people over 65 but not for the general population.

The vaccinations would start from mid-November and should be done at least six months after the patients received their second dose, Switzerland's health ministry and vaccination commission (EKIF) said in a statement.

The recommendation is based on the Swiss medicine regulator's decision to approve booster vaccinations with mRNA vaccines from Pfizer/Biontech and Moderna for high-risk patients, the ministry and EKIF said.

For the general population, it is currently not possible and not recommended to get a third vaccination dose based on currently available data, authorities said.

They added Switzerland had enough vaccines to offer shots to all patients eligible for booster vaccinations and to all those who have not yet been vaccinated over 2021-2022.

(Reporting by Zuzanna SzymanskaEditing by Riham Alkousaa and Nick Macfie)