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COVID-19

Denmark confirms first case of infectious Covid-19 variant P1

The first case in Denmark of the P1 variant of the Covid-19, first identified in Brazil, has been confirmed by health authorities.

Published: 3 March 2021 16:09 CET
Denmark confirms first case of infectious Covid-19 variant P1
Photo: Philip Davali/Ritzau Scanpix

Health minister Magnus Heunicke confirmed in a tweet that the P1 variant had now been detected in Denmark, while the national infectious disease agency, State Serum Institute (SSI), has stated that case occurred in the Greater Copenhagen region.

No information was released as to whether the infection occurred in Denmark or was imported by someone who travelled to the country from abroad.

Heunicke said that an intensive contact tracing effort was underway in order to minimise the risk that the variant could spread further.

The P1 variant was first identified in January in tropical city Manaus in Brazil. It is considered to be more infectious than previous forms of Covid-19, like other new variants B117 and B1351.

It is unclear whether Covid-19 patients who become infected with the P1 variant become more ill with the virus compared to other types.

The World Health Organization believes the variant to now have spread to around 30 countries including several in Europe.

READ ALSO: Denmark reports first community transmission of B1351 variant

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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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