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COVID-19

Norway confirms more cases of Covid variant

The new variant of the coronavirus has been confirmed in eleven new cases in the Nordre Follo municipality of Norway, bringing the total number of variant cases to 17, it was announced at a press conference on Sunday.

Published: 24 January 2021 16:34 CET
Norway confirms more cases of Covid variant
A quiet Oslo in shut down. Photo: Jil Yngland / NTB

“We have received confirmation from the National Institute of Public Health of what we feared”, said mayor of Nordre Follo municipality, Hanne Opdan during a press conference on Sunday.

“We must expect to uncover more cases of the mutated virus”, she continued, as the municipality awaits answers to 250 more samples which are expected tomorrow. 

“This was something we were anxious about coming, but which we had long hoped would not happen.”

One of the confirmed cases is a child of kindergarten age, VG reports.

On Saturday, Norway’s capital Oslo and nine neighbouring municipalities imposed strict shutdown measures, including the closure of all non-essential stores, after the more contagious coronavirus variant  was found in Nordre Follo municipality.

The Facebook group Red Hats – freedom rather than fear demonstrated outside the Storting building on Saturday afternoon after further restrictions were announced. Photo: Jil Yngland / NTB

The British coronavirus variant was first detected in Langhus Housing and Service Centre, at Nordre Follo, 30 kilometres (18 miles) from Oslo.

Two pensioners at the home, aged over 90, were found to have died with the variant, the public health institute said on Friday 22nd January.

The municipality has now found that 74 people have been infected with corona after the outbreak in the home.

A total of 17 are confirmed as being infected with the mutated virus.

Stricter measures may be announced in several other municipalities on Sunday evening, NRK reports.

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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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