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Do Norway’s latest Covid-19 infection numbers suggest improvement in fight against virus?

Latest data on Covid-19 infections in Norway could point to a ‘flattening’ of the country’s infection curve, but do not yet suggest a definite trend, a leading health official has said.

Published: 12 January 2021 17:30 CET
Do Norway’s latest Covid-19 infection numbers suggest improvement in fight against virus?
File photo: AFP

Espen Rostrup Nakstad, the assistant director of Norway's Directorate of Health, told newspaper VG that he was optimistic given current figures but causes for concern remain.

Tuesday saw 429 new cases of the coronavirus registered in Norway. That is 251 fewer than the daily average for the last week, which stands at 680, VG writes.

On Sunday, 555 new cases of the virus were registered. The number fell to 439 on Monday and then 429 on Tuesday.

In capital Oslo, 85 new cases of Covid-19 were registered on Tuesday. That is 75 fewer than the current weekly average, 160.

Nakstad told VG that although it is too early to say the figures represent a trend, he considers them a positive development.

“This means in all cases that we can take motivation and find pleasure in things that are going in the right direction,” he said.

The health directorate assistant director noted a difference in infection numbers locally, with some municipalities showing higher rates while others have close to no new cases.

READ ALSO: Bergen: Increased Covid-19 infection rates reported in Norwegian city

“There has now been a week of extra strict measures in Norway and if people carry on this way then we hope that with more control of outbreaks in many municipalities, these numbers will (also) be able to point downwards again,” he said to VG.

The Directorate of Health is currently concerned that infections could be brought into the country by people returning from Christmas breaks abroad or returning to the country for seasonal work. Many such people are testing positive for Covid-19 at the border, according to the newspaper.

Additionally, the authority says it wants control over persistent outbreaks in some areas in order to be certain the infections curve is truly headed downwards.

READ ALSO: Travel to Norway: 'Thousands skip mandatory testing' at Oslo Airport

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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.” 

READ ALSO: 

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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