Today in Switzerland: A roundup of the latest news on Thursday
Find out what's going on today in Switzerland with The Local's short roundup of the news.
A new Covid vaccine under development in Basel
Chemist and biotech entrepreneur Vladimir Cmiljanovic is developing the second-generation coronavirus vaccine in a project funded by the canton and Basel University Hospital. .
His start-up, Rocketvax, is creating a vaccine with a prolonged immune response. "We want to obtain protection for at least two years," Cmiljanovic said. That would be one year longer that present-day Covid vaccines are believed to offer.
Unlike Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which are based on the mRNA technology, or Johnson & Johnson’s viral vector, Rocketvax’s will contain small amounts of pathogens capable of reproducing themselves in reduced amounts, causing the immune system to produce antibodies and neutralising immune cells.
Cmiljanovic said he is expecting to submit his vaccine for authorisation by the end of 2022.
READ MORE: Switzerland: Who is eligible for the Johnson and Johnson vaccine?
Swiss group trying to “constitutionalise” cryptocurrency
A Swiss non-profit think-tank, 2B4CH, is planning to launch a referendum to enshrine Bitcoin in the country’s constitution.
As in any citizen-driven initiative, the group has to collect 100,000 signatures in order for the issue to be considered for the national vote.
“We are not too optimistic about getting a law actually passed, but the goal is to get 100,000 signatures to open a public conversation and debate”, 2B4CH said on social media.
🇨🇭We are planning to start a Federal Popular Initiative. Can we reach 100k Bitcoin-friendly Swiss nationals?
If you vote in Switzerland & you like #Bitcoin, please reply below and @ 1 or more friends who also are BTC enthusiasts.
RT for exposure also appreciated. Thank you.
👇 pic.twitter.com/ZtrGBI9lY4
— 2B4CH🇨🇭 (@2B4CH) October 8, 2021
Consumers beware: something “fishy” is going on at Migros and Coop
Both supermarket chains carry a low-cost line of products, M-Budget and Prix Garantie, respectively, which are supposed to be cheaper than “regular” brands.
However, the Consumer Foundation has discovered that there are no differences, except for packaging and price, between the discounted and regular products.
One example are frozen fish sticks, which appear to be the same — right down to the manufacturer and package size — in both discounted and non-discounted lines, except for the price.
The same applies to other products as well.
For its part, Migros admitted that in many cases the products are "identical in terms of recipe. The price difference is due to the packaging.”
Consumer Foundation’s Josianne Walpen noted the retailers "are deliberately tricking customers into believing that there are quality differences between these products".
“We do not know the extent of this deception. Maybe this is just the tip of the iceberg”, she said.
Switzerland creates infrastructure to track down Covid variants
The Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics announced that all the genetic sequences of the virus collected in Switzerland are now centralised on the Swiss Pathogen Surveillance Platform (SPSP), making it possible to provide the Federal Office of Public Health with "an overall view of the distribution and emergence of variants in an automated manner" .
More rapid sharing of Swiss sequences to international databases will also serve to speed up research on vaccines and treatments.
“The sequences come from almost all of the Swiss cantons. This is excellent news, because it means that new variants are unlikely to go under the radar", according to Aitana Lebrand, who is in charge of the SPSP platform.
If you have any questions about life in Switzerland, ideas for articles or news tips for The Local, please get in touch with us at [email protected]
Comments
See Also
A new Covid vaccine under development in Basel
Chemist and biotech entrepreneur Vladimir Cmiljanovic is developing the second-generation coronavirus vaccine in a project funded by the canton and Basel University Hospital. .
His start-up, Rocketvax, is creating a vaccine with a prolonged immune response. "We want to obtain protection for at least two years," Cmiljanovic said. That would be one year longer that present-day Covid vaccines are believed to offer.
Unlike Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which are based on the mRNA technology, or Johnson & Johnson’s viral vector, Rocketvax’s will contain small amounts of pathogens capable of reproducing themselves in reduced amounts, causing the immune system to produce antibodies and neutralising immune cells.
Cmiljanovic said he is expecting to submit his vaccine for authorisation by the end of 2022.
READ MORE: Switzerland: Who is eligible for the Johnson and Johnson vaccine?
Swiss group trying to “constitutionalise” cryptocurrency
A Swiss non-profit think-tank, 2B4CH, is planning to launch a referendum to enshrine Bitcoin in the country’s constitution.
As in any citizen-driven initiative, the group has to collect 100,000 signatures in order for the issue to be considered for the national vote.
“We are not too optimistic about getting a law actually passed, but the goal is to get 100,000 signatures to open a public conversation and debate”, 2B4CH said on social media.
🇨🇭We are planning to start a Federal Popular Initiative. Can we reach 100k Bitcoin-friendly Swiss nationals?
— 2B4CH🇨🇭 (@2B4CH) October 8, 2021
If you vote in Switzerland & you like #Bitcoin, please reply below and @ 1 or more friends who also are BTC enthusiasts.
RT for exposure also appreciated. Thank you.
👇 pic.twitter.com/ZtrGBI9lY4
Consumers beware: something “fishy” is going on at Migros and Coop
Both supermarket chains carry a low-cost line of products, M-Budget and Prix Garantie, respectively, which are supposed to be cheaper than “regular” brands.
However, the Consumer Foundation has discovered that there are no differences, except for packaging and price, between the discounted and regular products.
One example are frozen fish sticks, which appear to be the same — right down to the manufacturer and package size — in both discounted and non-discounted lines, except for the price.
The same applies to other products as well.
For its part, Migros admitted that in many cases the products are "identical in terms of recipe. The price difference is due to the packaging.”
Consumer Foundation’s Josianne Walpen noted the retailers "are deliberately tricking customers into believing that there are quality differences between these products".
“We do not know the extent of this deception. Maybe this is just the tip of the iceberg”, she said.
Switzerland creates infrastructure to track down Covid variants
The Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics announced that all the genetic sequences of the virus collected in Switzerland are now centralised on the Swiss Pathogen Surveillance Platform (SPSP), making it possible to provide the Federal Office of Public Health with "an overall view of the distribution and emergence of variants in an automated manner" .
More rapid sharing of Swiss sequences to international databases will also serve to speed up research on vaccines and treatments.
“The sequences come from almost all of the Swiss cantons. This is excellent news, because it means that new variants are unlikely to go under the radar", according to Aitana Lebrand, who is in charge of the SPSP platform.
If you have any questions about life in Switzerland, ideas for articles or news tips for The Local, please get in touch with us at [email protected]
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.