Berset conceals failure with de facto compulsory vaccination

Alain Berset enjoys the greatest sympathy in the audience, as surveys show. His federal office failed across the board. 200,000 Moderna vaccine doses are currently missing. Apparently, Berset's people had negotiated useless contracts with the US company.

Yesterday, Berset distracted from the self-inflicted misery. His three-step plan is based on more vaccinations. These are an act of “solidarity”.

Berset increases the pressure massively. Those who do not want to vaccinate have disadvantages – at least temporarily. Lucky are those who have recovered, who are also allowed to go to the restaurant and cinema. Alternatively, you can get tested every week.

Marcel Salathé, the well-known Swiss epidemiologist, is one of the few who cries out. "If you treat population groups differently because of a health characteristic, I find it tricky," said the expert in an interview with the Tages-Anzeiger.

Salathé makes the crucial point: "If many vaccinate, the virus will have an extremely difficult time." That's exactly what Berset, the Federal Council and his experts have always emphasized: 70 to 80 percent of those vaccinated are needed for the virus to run out of air.

That may still apply. Yesterday, Berset spoke of 40 to 50 percent vaccinated, which is needed to start with the two-class system: the good ones for fun, the bad ones home.

The Minister of Health probably wants to say that when it is 80 percent, we can end the special treatment.

That's OK for the NZZ. Temporarily, the opponents of vaccination would have to accept a reduced status. You can't leave the opening speed to the refusers.

That makes sense. Only: the point is different. Berset and the Bern government promised last year that they would not plan to make vaccination compulsory.

“Compulsory vaccination does not mean the same as compulsory vaccination,” Bern stated in late summer after vehement protests in the consultation on the Covid 19 law.

"There is no legal basis on which anyone could be compulsorily vaccinated, nor is there any provision in the Covid-19 Act or any other decree."

Privileges for the vaccinated are correct.

It sounded different yesterday. Berset is actually introducing compulsory vaccination.

He divides the Swiss into two groups: those who have been vaccinated, those who have recovered and those who are willing to take the test, and those who are unwilling, those who are dangerous, who must be kept away from the good, solidary citizens by government decree for the time being.

Berset wants to use it to promote vaccination – which he himself has not been able to do with his BAG. Many people want to be vaccinated, but they can't: there are far too few vaccines.

If that changes at some point and finally 80 percent in Switzerland are vaccinated: will everyone in the country be treated the same again?

Doubts arise because Berset and the government constantly whitewash their own mistakes. You slept through it all, threw billions out of the window, apparently unsuitable vaccination contracts were concluded - and that as the highest representative of the model nation.

There were never any consequences, we always patted each other on the back. Trust suffers as a result.

But this is exactly what is needed when Berne says that Switzerland will only be temporarily divided into two classes. Will the 20 percent who probably don't want to be vaccinated have the same rights again after a few months? That no longer seems certain.