Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

VACCINE

Denmark to receive additional doses of Pfizer vaccine in second quarter

The EU said Wednesday it would get 50 million Pfizer vaccine doses earlier than expected, as Denmark banned use of rival drugmaker AstraZeneca’s vaccine over blood clot links.

Published: 15 April 2021 13:06 CEST
Denmark to receive additional doses of Pfizer vaccine in second quarter
Photo: Philip Davali/Ritzau Scanpix

The news comes after Johnson & Johnson said it would delay its European rollout, a major hit for the continent’s beleaguered immunisation campaign as several countries battle rising caseloads. 

READ ALSO:

The vaccine setbacks threaten to dampen hopes that immunisations will allow countries to emerge from the pandemic that has now killed close to three million people and ravaged the global economy.

But it was not all bad news in Europe, which will soon receive 50 million doses of the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine initially expected at the end of this year.

The doses will now be delivered in the second quarter of this year, and will start arriving as soon as this month.

In Denmark, that will mean an additional 650,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine will be sent to the country in the second quarter of 2021, somewhat softening the blow of delays caused by the suspensions of the other vaccines.

Just over 1 percent of the expedited Pfizer vaccines will be sent to Denmark. Distribution is calculated in proportion to population size.

The earlier supply of Pfizer is “crucial for the vaccine rollout taking place in Denmark in these weeks and months”, health minister Magnus Heunicke wrote on Twitter.

EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said “there are still many factors that can disrupt the planned delivery schedules of vaccines”, referring to the J&J delay.

“It is therefore important to act swiftly, anticipate and adjust whenever it is possible.” 

More than 820 million doses of vaccine have now been administered globally, but with demand far outstripping supply, countries are scrambling to secure much-needed jabs. 

Johnson & Johnson said it would put off its European deliveries over reports of rare blood clots among people who had received the shot. 

US health regulators also recommended pausing its use after six reported cases of clots — among more than 6.8 million J&J doses administered in the US.  
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said Wednesday it would make a recommendation on the safety of the J&J jab next week after evaluating clot links.

AstraZeneca has faced similar setbacks, with many countries now limiting its use to older people following isolated cases blood clots among younger populations, some fatal. 

Denmark said Wednesday it would stop using it altogether — a European first — despite assurances from the EMA and the World Health Organization that side effects far outweigh possible risks. 

Europe passed a million Covid deaths this week, with many countries from France to Italy and Spain still facing some form of virus restrictions after the continent’s sputtering vaccine rollout.

But in Belgium, cafes and restaurants got the greenlight to open their terraces from May 8th after a slight easing of cases there. Swiss officials also announced that bars and restaurants and some leisure facilities could reopen next Monday.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

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.

SHOW COMMENTS