Switzerland is warning that vaccination centers, transport, and manufacturing facilities may be potential targets for terrorist attacks.
Newspaper NZZ reports that the government is concerned about attacks from jihadist groups but said there are no tangible indications of a planned attack.
The country’s Federal Intelligence Service (NDB) added that the Taliban’s return to power doesn’t fundamentally change the nation’s security situation. However, the agency said terrorists might view vaccination centers as ideal targets because they could “hit large crowds as well as trigger intensive media coverage,” according to NDB spokesperson Isabelle Graber.
The NDB clarified, however, that it had no information suggesting that such an attack was being planned.
“But any attack targeting Switzerland’s inoculation drive would undoubtedly have far-reaching national security implications,” notes RT. “The spokesman for Bern’s health department told the outlet that for safety reasons, the city’s vaccination centers only store as much vaccine as is needed over the course of the day.”
The manufacturer of the Moderna vaccine, Lonza Group AG, told NZZ said via a spokesperson the company would not comment "on such sensitive topics.”
The Swiss Army was put in charge of the logistics of the nation’s vaccination program. It handles the delivery of every dose of the vaccination. Additionally, doses are stored in secret locations.
In an interview, Health Minister Alain Berset said that mobile vaccination efforts need to be increased, per India Times.
“Switzerland has suffered a significant increase in Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations in recent weeks,” reports Bloomberg. “The Alpine nation has distributed 9.51 million vaccine doses, enough to cover 55.6% of the population, according to Bloomberg’s vaccine tracker. That’s one of the lowest vaccine rates among major economies in Europe.”
Last week, the Alpine nation reached an agreement with Pfizer, which will now supply 14 million more doses of its COVID-19 vaccine to cover 2022 and 2023. An additional 7 million doses could optionally be supplied each year, according to the contract.
Berset said, "With this, the Swiss population will have access to enough vaccine in the coming two years."
The Health Minister has also called for regular mass testing in schools.
