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Danish ruling party surges after tough coronavirus actions

The Danish government has been rewarded for its rapid and far-reaching moves to slow the spread of coronavirus and cushion the country's economy, with a near five percent surge in opinion polls.

Published: 30 March 2020 10:52 CEST
Danish ruling party surges after tough coronavirus actions
Danish Prime Minister Metter Frederiksen in Denmark's parliament last week. Photo: Liselotte Sabroe/Ritzau Scanpix
In the latest opinion poll by Voxmeter for the Ritzau newswire, the Danish Social Democratic party had the support of 31.5 percent of voters, up 4.7 percent in a single week, and the highest share of voting intentions the party has enjoyed since October 2006. 
 
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has taken tough actions, banning gatherings of more than ten people, shutting restaurants, bars, shops and sports facilities, and even closing Denmark's borders against the recommendations of its own public health agency (Sundhedsstyrelsen). 
 
“If we have to wait for full evidence to fight the corona, then it is my clear conviction that we will be too late,” Frederiksen said in a speech, explaining why her government decided to go so far so fast, even when there was little medical evidence to support decisions. 
 
According to Anna Christensen Research Director at Voxmeter, the Danish population overwhelmingly supports the government's approach, with 85.2 percent saying that they have confidence in the handling of the crisis, and only four percent saying they did not. 
 
“We can see that the popularity of the prime minister's and the government's handling of the crisis is very, very high,” she told The Local. “It's almost the entire population that supports it.” 
 
So far, Denmark's tougher approach has not resulted in a lower death tally than in light-touch Sweden next door. 
 
The country's SSI health agency reported that there had so far been 72 coronavirus deaths on Saturday, or twelve per million of population. This compared to 110, or ten per million of population, in Sweden.
 
 
 
 

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COVID-19

Public Health Agency recommends two Covid doses next year for elderly

Sweden's Public Health Agency is recommending that those above the age of 80 should receive two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine a year, once in the spring and once in the autumn, as it shifts towards a longer-term strategy for the virus.

Published: 23 December 2022 10:53 CET
Public Health Agency recommends two Covid doses next year for elderly

In a new recommendation, the agency said that those living in elderly care centres, and those above the age of 80 should from March 1st receive two vaccinations a year, with a six month gap between doses. 

“Elderly people develop a somewhat worse immune defence after vaccination and immunity wanes faster than among young and healthy people,” the agency said. “That means that elderly people have a greater need of booster doses than younger ones. The Swedish Public Health Agency considers, based on the current knowledge, that it will be important even going into the future to have booster doses for the elderly and people in risk groups.” 

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People between the ages of 65 and 79 years old and young people with risk factors, such as obesity, diabetes, poor kidney function or high blood pressure, are recommended to take one additional dose per year.

The new vaccination recommendation, which will start to apply from March 1st next year, is only for 2023, Johanna Rubin, the investigator in the agency’s vaccination programme unit, explained. 

She said too much was still unclear about how long protection from vaccination lasted to institute a permanent programme.

“This recommendation applies to 2023. There is not really an abundance of data on how long protection lasts after a booster dose, of course, but this is what we can say for now,” she told the TT newswire. 

It was likely, however, that elderly people would end up being given an annual dose to protect them from any new variants, as has long been the case with influenza.

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