Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer

Original article

Vol. 151 No. 3940 (2021)

Expert guidance for COVID-19 vaccine deployment in Switzerland: a Delphi process

  • Kevin Selby
  • Marc-Antoine Bornet
  • Yann Sancosme
  • Erik von Elm
  • Valérie d’Acremont
  • Serge de Valliere
  • Jacques Cornuz
  • Blaise Genton
DOI
https://doi.org/10.4414/SMW.2021.w30076
Cite this as:
Swiss Med Wkly. 2021;151:w30076
Published
28.09.2021

Summary

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Vaccines providing protection against COVID-19 are a core tool for ending the pandemic. Though international organisations created guidance in 2020 for vaccine deployment, this had to be adapted for each country’s situation and values. We aimed to assist public health decision makers by identifying areas of consensus among Swiss experts for the deployment of one or more novel COVID-19 vaccines.

METHODS: An electronic, modified Delphi process between September and November 2020. We recruited a convenience sample of experts working in Switzerland from a variety of specialities, who completed two anonymous questionnaires. They voted on clarification questions and guidance statements from 0 (complete disagreement) to 10 (complete agreement). Responses for guidance statements with a median ≥8 and a lower inter-quartile range bound ≥7 were considered as reaching consensus.

RESULTS: Sixty-five experts accepted (66% response rate), with 47 completing the first questionnaire (72%), and 48 the second (74%). Statements reaching consensus included: in the first phase we should vaccinate front-line healthcare professionals and people ≥65 years with risk factors; widespread vaccination of children and adolescents should not be an early priority; and vaccines should be provided free of charge in the setting of national or cantonal vaccination campaigns. Statements not reaching consensus included: early vaccination of people living with someone with risk factors who are not themselves at risk; vaccination of people with previous confirmed or suspected COVID-19; and whether vaccination should be mandatory for individuals with certain activities, such as front-line healthcare professionals.

CONCLUSIONS: Experts reached consensus on several statements that were available for decision-makers when making key decisions for COVID-19 vaccine deployment in Switzerland. Statements without consensus highlighted areas requiring expert and public dialogue. The modified Delphi process allowed us to rapidly synthesise views from a broad panel of experts on sensitive topics, and could be considered for a broad range of issues during public health crises. 

References

  1. Anderson RM, Vegvari C, Truscott J, Collyer BS. Challenges in creating herd immunity to SARS-CoV-2 infection by mass vaccination. Lancet. 2020 Nov;396(10263):1614–6. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)32318-7
  2. Lee GM, Bell BP, Romero JR. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and Its Role in the Pandemic Vaccine Response. JAMA. 2020 Aug;324(6):546–7. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.13167
  3. National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine. Framework for Equitable Allocation of COVID-19 Vaccine. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press; 2020.
  4. World Health Organization. Framework for decision-making: implementation of mass vaccination campaigns in the context of COVID-19. Geneva: World Health Organization;2020.
  5. Food and Drug Administration. Development and Licensure of Vaccines to Prevent COVID-19. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services;June 2020.
  6. Haute Autorité de Santé. Stratégie de vaccination contre le COVID-19. 2020; https://www.has-sante.fr/upload/docs/application/pdf/2020-07/rapport_strategie_vaccination_covid_19_vf.pdf. Accessed 2020 August 23.
  7. Kompetenznetz Public Health COVID-19. Vaccination Policy. 2020; https://www.public-health-covid19.de/images/2020/Ergebnisse/PolicyBrief_vaccination_2020_final-1.pdf. Accessed 2020 September 3.
  8. World Health Organization. WHO SAGE Roadmap for Prioritizing Uses of COVID-19 Vaccines in the Context of Limited Supply. 2020; https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/who-sage-roadmap-for-prioritizing-uses-of-covid-19-vaccines-in-the-context-of-limited-supply. Accessed 2020 November 26.
  9. Dalkey NC. The Delphi Method: An Experimental Study of Group Opinion. RAND Corporation; 1969.
  10. Covid-19 vaccine: experts submit their proposals for deployment in Switzerland [press release]. 2020; https://www.newsd.admin.ch/newsd/message/attachments/64534.pdf. Accessed 2020 December 12.
  11. FOPH FOoPH. Vaccinations, Switzerland and Liechtenstein: Information on the current situation, as of 5 August 2021. COVID-19 2021; https://www.covid19.admin.ch/en/vaccination/doses. Accessed 2021 August 6.
  12. World Health Organization. WHO SAGE values framework for the allocation and prioritization of COVID-19 vaccination. 2020; https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/334299/WHO-2019-nCoV-SAGE_Framework-Allocation_and_prioritization-2020.1-eng.pdf. Accessed 2020 21 September.
  13. European Center for Disease Prevention and Control. https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/Overview-of-EU_EEA-UK-vaccination-deployment-plans.pdf. Stockholm: ECDC;2020.
  14. Iacobucci G, Mahase E. Covid-19 vaccination: what’s the evidence for extending the dosing interval? BMJ. 2021 Jan;372(18):n18. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n18
  15. FDA Statement on Following the Authorized Dosing Schedules for COVID-19 Vaccines [press release]. FDA, 4 Jan 2021 2021.
  16. Control; ECfDPa. Overview of the implementation of COVID-19 vaccination strategies and deployment plans in the EU/EEA – 6 May 2021. 2021; https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/publications-data/overview-implementation-covid-19-vaccination-strategies-and-vaccine-deployment#no-link. Accessed May 22, 2021.
  17. Goodman CM. The Delphi technique: a critique. J Adv Nurs. 1987 Nov;12(6):729–34. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2648.1987.tb01376.x

Most read articles by the same author(s)

<< < 1 2