New IT system for vaccination management in the Canton of Basel-Stadt
18/02/2021 (14:30)
Press release
Department of Health
This week, the Canton of Basel-Stadt switched over to the Federal Government’s IT systems for vaccination management. The switch is primarily for organisational reasons, simplifying processes for the canton and guaranteeing interfaces to the Federal Government. The new IT systems also make it possible to efficiently keep the waiting list now offered by the Canton of Basel-Stadt.
The Canton of Basel-Stadt switched to a new IT system this week. Like most of the cantons, it is now working with the Federal Government’s system “OneDoc” and the software “Soignez-moi” for registering people who wish to receive the vaccine. Registration can now be done entirely online. The process complies with the Canton of Basel-Stadt’s data protection guidelines. There are various advantages to switching to the Federal Government’s IT systems because they have been specifically adapted for the Covid-19 vaccination campaign in Switzerland and are regularly updated by the Federal Government. The systems also provide an interface for sending data to the Federal Government’s compulsory vaccination reporting and to the voluntary vaccination card mycovidvac, which is for electronically recording Covid-19 vaccinations. Data is transmitted anonymously.
Switching to the Federal Government’s IT software also means that a waiting list has now been introduced in the Canton of Basel-Stadt. From 09.00 tomorrow, Friday 19 February 2021, people who are currently eligible for vaccination can now register and join a waiting list to receive the Covid-19 vaccine in the coronavirus vaccination centre at Messe Basel. People aged under 75 and in the highest risk category are eligible for vaccination. They must have a medical certificate confirming an illness that meets the criteria of the Swiss Committee on Vaccination Issues EKIF [Eidgenössische Kommission für Impffragen] and be resident in the Canton of Basel-Stadt. People aged 75 and over are also still eligible for vaccination (people born in 1946 and older, resident in Basel). People in care and nursing homes who have not yet been vaccinated are asked not to register using this system. They will be vaccinated in their nursing home by mobile teams.
As the vaccine manufacturers are currently experiencing supply issues, it will still be some time before people on the waiting list get a vaccination appointment. The Department of Health is currently not expecting these people to receive the vaccine before April. Approval of more vaccines and additional deliveries of vaccines that have already been approved could speed up this process. People on the waiting list will be invited for a vaccination appointment via text message. These vaccination appointments cannot be postponed. Anybody who misses their appointment will have to register again.
As of yesterday, Wednesday 17 February 2021, 19,883 vaccinations had been given in the Canton of Basel-Stadt. 221 vaccinations were administered in three further nursing homes yesterday. 44 people received their first vaccination, while 177 received their second. A total of 8,263 people in the Canton of Basel-Stadt have been fully vaccinated with the first and second vaccination.