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Norway to use ‘coronavirus certificates’ in reopening plan

Prime Minister Erna Solberg says that certificates will be issued to people who have either received a Covid-19 vaccine or have immunity as part of the Norway's four step plan to lift coronavirus restrictions.

Norway to use 'coronavirus certificates' in reopening plan
(Photo by JOEL SAGET / AFP)

The PM confirmed that proof of vaccination will be used in Norway in a statement given in parliament on Wednesday.

“We must consider how such a certificate can best be used nationally in connection with reopening the country. A corona certificate opens up opportunities, but at the same time offers challenges and dilemmas. The government’s ambition is to land a solution for such a certificate within reasonable time,” said the prime minister in a statement to parliament. 

The head of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH), Camilla Stoltenberg, has said that she backs the use of Corona certificates or vaccine passports.

“We have not made any final decision on it, but we are positive (regarding) the use of vaccine certificates,” she told national broadcaster NRK.

She also added that she understands that vaccine passports are controversial for some.

“Some will have been vaccinated, and others will not. It is a question of justice and it is a question of what one can allow in private contexts and what one can allow for in public contexts,” she said.

The EU is already working on a model for vaccine passports and Norway has said that it will follow the EU’s decisions on the matter.

READ ALSO: Could ‘health passports’ kickstart travel around Europe?

Stoltenberg said that she thinks the NIPH and Norwegian Directorate of Health will soon be commissioned to research the use of vaccine passports.

“We believe that vaccine certificates probably have their place, and that it should definitely be looked at how they can be used in a good way. But it is difficult. It is. A question of what kind of injustice it also could have,” the health chief said.

Last week Minister of Health Bent Høie said that the government is working with EU on the development of a vaccine certificate. The certificate would be made of a combination of vaccine status and test status.

“We are looking at the possibility of combining simple digital solutions to see if people have been vaccinated, and possibly tested. It opens up the possibility of travelling in Europe. It can be used nationally, with a hope of keeping it as open as possible,” Høie said.

Th state secretary with the Ministry of Health, Saliba Andreas Korkunc, said that Norway already has a form of vaccination card, which can be accessed on the Helsenorge website. Authorities are now working to further develop the card into a full certificate that follows international recommendations.

“We are now working to clarify in which situations we can use a corona certificate. There are many considerations that must be taken into account in this assessment, both ethical, scientific and legal. Before concluding, there is a need for more knowledge about the effect the vaccines have on the spread of infection and the effect against new virus variants,” said Korkunc.

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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.” 

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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