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Danish health chief gives OK to lockdown love: ‘Sex is good. Sex is healthy’

Denmark's health chief has made it clear that Denmark's strict approach to social distancing does not extend to sex, either casual or in a steady relationship.

Danish health chief gives OK to lockdown love: 'Sex is good. Sex is healthy'
Søren Brostrøm puts some of Danes' worries to rest during Monday's press conference. Photo: Niels Christian Vilmann/Ritzau Scanpix
At a press conference on Monday, Søren Brostrøm, The Director General of the Danish Health Authority, said that even singles who have a relatively high number of different sexual partners should not feel inhibited by social distancing measures. 
 
“Sex is good. Sex is healthy. We are sexual beings, and of course you can have sex in this situation,” he said. “As with any other human contact, there is a risk of infection. But of course one must be able to have sex.” 
 
Coronavirus enters the respiratory tract by the inhalation of droplets, and is not spread via semen or vaginal fluid, but the physical closeness involved in sex clearly brings a risk of inhaling the virus. 
 
Kåre Mølbak, professional director at Denmark's SSI infectious diseases agency, said that the social distancing guidelines in Denmark should nonetheless not discourage either dating or full-blown sexual encounters. 
 
“I don't think there is a ban on meeting. That is only in relation to larger assemblies. So in that way, I think there is still the opportunity to have that kind of contact, and especially with a permanent partner,” he said. 
 

 

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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.

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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