Vaccinations

The vaccination against seasonal flu, like other basic vaccinations and supplementary vaccinations within the framework of the Swiss Vaccination Plan, is part of individual personal health care; therefore, the Safety, Security, Health and Environment Department no longer offers flu vaccinations.

For ETH members with professional contact to patients or probands, for employees of day-care centers as well as for researchers with professional contact to domestic poultry or wild birds, the flu vaccination is recommended for professional reasons. The vaccination is carried out decentrally at the family doctor's office or at a vaccination pharmacy; the costs are borne by the responsible organizational unit.

The vaccination is important for students: In the event of a measles outbreak, the cantonal medical officer can impose a ban on entering the
university of up to 3 weeks for all those not immune to the disease who have had contact with a potentially infected person. This can also happen in the middle of a semester or during the exam period.

The measles virus is five to six times more contagious than seasonal flu. Contrary to popular belief, measles is not harmless for adults. Measles can cause serious complications in adults, such as pneumonia or meningitis.
The general conditions at colleges and universities, with large gatherings of people in a confined space, favour virus transmission: an infected person who has not yet developed symptoms can expose everyone gathered in an auditorium to the virus.

The measles vaccination (two doses at least one month apart) is recommended for everyone who has never been infected with the disease. On the one hand, vaccination serves to protect you personally, and on the other hand, it prevents transmission to persons who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons (infants, pregnant women and persons with a weakened immune system).

It is worth checking whether you are at risk of infection. A blood test can determine whether you are immune. By assessing your own risk or by the vaccination you contribute to your own health and at the same time protect others, especially those who can¡¯t receive the vaccination for the reasons listed above.

You can find information on the facts at external page the Federal Office of Public Health FOPH or at external page the Canton of Zurich, Directorate of Health.

The measles vaccination is important for students: In the event of a measles outbreak, the cantonal physician can impose an exclusion of up to 3 weeks from the institution for all persons not immune to measles who have had contact with a potentially infectious person - even in the middle of the semester or during the examination period.

Members of ETH Zurich are sometimes exposed to particular risks of infection or contagion in the course of their research work, during field trials or on excursions, which can be reduced by a Download vaccination (PDF, 133 KB). ETH Zurich bears the costs for the vaccination of its employees who require a special vaccination due to their professional activity at ETH Zurich. The units concerned (chairs, institutes and other organisational units) pay for these costs. Students usually pay for the costs of vaccinations themselves.

For advice regarding vaccinations and receiving vaccinations, you can either contact the external page Travel Clinic of the University of Zurich or external page the Centre for Occupational Medicine, Ergonomics and Hygiene (AEH).

One of the special vaccinations for which information is most frequently sought is the vaccination against tick-borne disease: information on tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) and the vaccination itself can be obtained from the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) external page ?Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE)?.