First the MS virus, now the flu: half of Switzerland is lying flat, hospitals are complaining about a lack of beds and staff. Of course, the situation cannot be compared with the Corona. Hospitals are now also operating at full capacity because they are carrying out operations that had to be postponed during the pandemic – the so-called elective surgeries. However, it is also true that the situation would be less dire if we had learned from the pandemic.
The Federal Public Health Administration is currently working on a revision of the Epidemics Act. According to reports, the lawyers of the BAG boldly take on such sensitive issues as mandatory vaccination of health workers. Against this background, it becomes clear why Alain Berset wanted to change the department so much … If the bill is really presented to the public in the spring, as planned, emotions are guaranteed to run high again.
The coronavirus vaccination largely removed his fear, and it’s more than worrying that many people subsequently try to downplay this scientific breakthrough. At the same time, it is necessary to carefully consider whether mandatory vaccination of only medical workers is appropriate in the event of another pandemic. In any case, such a law carries the risk of further increasing the shortage of nursing staff.
At the same time, there are effective and easily implemented lessons from the pandemic that are completely ignored by the authorities. Corona has brought great suffering to our country. However, Corona is also an impressive example of what can be achieved with the simplest of preventive measures: wearing FFP2 masks and regular handwashing have been shown to slow the spread of all respiratory viruses. When the authorities managed to resolve the Corona in the spring, they had to build on this success. Why didn’t the federal government launch a hand hygiene campaign? For example, with the message: Covid is over – let’s stay clean anyway! After all, coronoviruses are extremely rarely infected by contact with objects, while such smear infections are much more common with the influenza virus and MS. It was right to promote handwashing in schools during the pandemic – there would be even more now.
What a professional post-coronavirus awareness campaign could have prevented: Anyone who coughs, sneezes and spits today is getting tested for the coronavirus. If the result is negative, many feel that they can go out without precautions. This behavior is likely one of the reasons flu season starts earlier this year than other years.
Our country has achieved convincing successes in preventive work. Corona is one example, HIV is another. Swiss AIDS campaigns were once considered exemplary throughout the world. Anyone interested in this topic can view posters and commercials from 35 years ago on the FOPH website. You will of course notice that two videos from the first days are missing. Although they are completely harmless, they can no longer be summoned directly from the FOPH portal. Reason: supposedly too much bare skin to see.
Answering a question from SonntagsBlick, BAG attributed this annoying censorship to the age restrictions of YouTube’s video platform. If you wanted to be efficient, you could of course post short films on the website without the help of Youtube. In reality, however, this episode is indicative of a disruption in the federal government’s current relationship with effective preventive work.
Gyeri Kaveti
Source: Blick
I am David Miller, a highly experienced news reporter and author for 24 Instant News. I specialize in opinion pieces and have written extensively on current events, politics, social issues, and more. My writing has been featured in major publications such as The New York Times, The Guardian, and BBC News. I strive to be fair-minded while also producing thought-provoking content that encourages readers to engage with the topics I discuss.
