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COVID-19

Norway PM warns lockdown relaxation could be reversed

Norway's prime minister, Erna Solberg, has warned that if Norwegians relax their efforts to slow the spread of coronavirus, the government could be forced to reverse the relaxations of recent weeks.

Published: 24 April 2020 17:32 CEST
Norway PM warns lockdown relaxation could be reversed
Norway's PM Erna Solberg exhorts the country to keep up its social distancing efforts: Photo: Norway PM's office/Flickr
“If we are careless, it could have serious consequences for others. In the worst case, we will need to tighten the measures again,” she said at her weekly press conference. “This is not the time to relax. We've got to hold on a little longer.”
 
Norway will next week open schools for the first four classes, while hairdressers, beauticians and other one-on-one professions will also open up. 
 
But Solberg said that this week's judgement from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health that the pandemic was under control in the country, and the continuing decline in hospital numbers, did not mean the challenge was over.  
 
“The fact that we have low numbers now does not guarantee that the infection rates will remain low in the future. That's an important message from me. We can't lower our shoulders. We still have to work hard to keep control of the infection.” 
 
 
Norway's health minister later in the press conference announced a relaxation in the strict no-visit policy in place at Norway's elderly care homes. Residents near the end of their lives will now be able to receive visitors.  
 
“There are exceptions to the visitor ban. If you follow the infection control rules,” he said. “Institutions will make arrangements for relatives to visit the elderly if they are critically ill and their lives are coming to an end.” 
 
He said elderly care homes would now be able to set up special visiting rooms where residents could receive short family visits.
 
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Stener Kvinnsland, Emeritus Professor of Medicine at Bergen University, explains his role in the commission at the press conference. Photo: Norway PM's office/Flickr
 
Norway's government also announced on Friday that it had appointed Stener Kvinnsland, Emeritus Professor of Medicine at Bergen University, to lead a 11-strong expert committee which would examine the government's handling of the coronavirus crisis. 
 
“On March 12, we introduced the most radical measures Norway has taken in peacetime. We took decisions under a great deal of uncertainty. We have to see what worked well, what has not worked, and also what could have been better prepared, Solberg said in a press release. 

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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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