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VACCINE

Could final year high school students in Norway be given earlier Covid-19 vaccines?

The Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) is considering vaccinating final-year 'russ' students in areas of high infection to try to help control the spread of Covid-19.

Could final year high school students in Norway be given earlier Covid-19 vaccines?
A nurse prepares a dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine against Covid-19. (Photo by Pascal GUYOT / AFP)

The health authority will look into the possibility of final year ‘russ’ students being vaccinated earlier due to the risk of virus transmission amongst young people, NIPH director of infection control Geir Bukholm told national newspaper VG.

Russ is considered a rite of passage in Norway and is a period between the end of April and May 17th where final year high school students party and celebrate for four weeks before their final exams.

READ MORE: Understanding Norwegian social culture: Seven things foreigners may find surprising

“It may at least be relevant to conclude with an assessment before that (russ). Not necessarily just because of the russ period, but in general to use the doses we have in the best possible way to control the spread of infection,” Bukholm said.

“We think it will be possible to make a recommendation before russ starts. We do not want to commit to a specific date right now, but in any case, we will make a recommendation before May 11th,” he added.

NIPH is scheduled to provide a new vaccine strategy to the government by May 11th.

The health authority hopes all young people are vaccinated before school and studies begin in the autumn.

“Young people move about a lot and meet a lot of people. They can become sources of infection. If we stop that, we can affect the spread of infection more and perhaps curb the epidemic,” NIPH senior medical advisor Preben Aavitsland told VG.

One advantage of moving young people ahead in the queue is that the spread of infection can be slowed down quicker by targeting areas with high infection rates, Aavitsland said, but noted prioritisation is a balancing act.

“The young do not have a high risk of serious illness. It is the middle-aged and the elderly who are at risk. If 40-50 year-olds have to wait longer, they can get more serious illness. That is the consideration which matters most and an assessment we must make,” the senior medical consultant said.

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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.” 

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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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