At the end of 2021 Switzerland, again finds itself in a critical phase of the pandemic. Very high infection rates and low population immunity to the highly contagious delta variant are putting the healthcare system under pressure. At the same time, the new omicron variant is spreading worldwide at a rapid rate.
In this tense situation, continuity and security are of particular importance for the Swiss authorities and population. With this in mind, the Swiss National COVID-19 Science Task Force has decided to maintain its current structure under the leadership of Prof. Tanja Stadler beyond 31 December 2021 until the end of the mandate, at the latest 13 May 2022.
“Over the past 21 months, this interdisciplinary group of researchers has developed into an agile and integrated team,” says Stadler. “The intensive exchange with colleagues in Switzerland and abroad allows us to quickly provide scientific findings to decision-makers and thus contribute to the fight against the pandemic in Switzerland.”
Tanja Stadler is a professor in the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering at the ETH Zurich in Basel. As a member and later head of the Expert Group for Data and Modeling, she has been part of the Task Force since its inception. In August 2021, Stadler took over the Task Force leadership from Prof. Martin Ackermann.