Swiss government updates policy again, two Chinese vaccines accepted on Swiss certificate – Outney.net

The Swiss government has again updated its Covid certification policy. Now, proof of vaccination from China’s Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines will be accepted for the Covid certification framework.

This is the latest extension of the types of vaccines that are accepted. Which vaccines have been accepted by Switzerland for the Covid certificate and how has this changed over time?

Switzerland has used a two-tier approval process for vaccines: those accepted for entry and those accepted for the Covid certificate.
While a large number of vaccines have been accepted for the Covid certificate, fewer have been accepted for the Covid certificate.

Which vaccines are accepted for entry into Switzerland?
Initially, only vaccines approved by Swissmedic, the official domestic authority, were accepted for the Covid certificate.

This meant that Moderna, Biontech / Pfizer and Johnson and Johnson were the only ones accepted. Note that by the end of September, Johnson and Johnson were approved in Switzerland but not administered domestically.
From September 20, Switzerland expanded the vaccines received to include those approved by the EMA, which included AstraZeneca, writes Albinfo.ch.

This made it much easier for vaccinated people in the UK, Israel, India and several other countries to obtain a Covid certificate, given the spread of AstraZeneca in these countries.

In an update on September 30 – and with less fuss compared to the AstraZeneca change – the Swiss government said it would also allow vaccines on the WHO emergency list.

At this time, this includes the SARS-CoV-2 (Vero Cell) (Sinopharm / BIBP) and CoronaVac (Sinovac) vaccine.
To the dismay of Russian travelers or those vaccinated in Russia, the Swiss government also stated that “COVID certificates cannot currently be issued for vaccination with Sputnik V.”