Coronavirus: Federal Council to cover vaccination costs for further groups

Bern, 03.02.2021 - At its meeting on 3 February, the Federal Council took the decision to extend free access to the coronavirus vaccination to further groups of people in Switzerland. The federal government will now cover the cost of vaccinations for people who live in Switzerland but do not have mandatory health insurance cover, such as diplomats. The vaccination will also be free for cross-border workers employed by Swiss healthcare and care institutions who are not insured in Switzerland.

The aim of covering vaccination costs for a wider circle of people is to encourage those living in Switzerland who are not covered by Swiss health insurance to get vaccinated. The measure will mainly benefit diplomats and staff at international organisations, as well as cross-border workers employed at Swiss healthcare and care institutions who have health insurance cover at their place of residence. The new arrangement affects around 150,000 people. If all of these people were to be billed individually, the administrative costs would be higher than the cost of the vaccination itself. A number of neighbouring countries have adopted a similar practice. The Federal Council expects to incur additional costs of CHF 3.5 million. The arrangement applies retrospectively from 4 January.

Address for enquiries

Federal Office of Public Health,
Coronavirus Infoline +41 58 463 00 00
COVID-19 Vaccination Infoline +41 58 377 88 92