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NIPH

Norway to offer everyone second Covid-19 vaccine by end of August

The Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) is planning to offer everyone the opportunity to be fully vaccinated by the end of the summer.

Norway to offer everyone second Covid-19 vaccine by end of August
Somebody receiving a Covid-19 vaccine. Pascal GUYOT / AFP

NIPH director Camilla Stoltenberg said that everyone would be offered their second dose by summers end if everything goes as planned.

“It is possible and conceivable, and we hope to be able to offer everyone their second dose during the second half of August,” Director of the NIPH, Camilla Stoltenberg, told radio station P4.

This is despite the possibility of Norway dropping the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines from the country’s vaccination program.

On Monday, an expert committee set up by the government to undertake a risk assessment following suspected severe side effects after receiving the vaccine, such as blood clots, said that government should withdraw the two vaccines from its vaccination strategy.

READ MORE: Norway should axe AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccines, expert committee rules 

The plan is reliant on deliveries from Pfizer and Moderna arriving on time. The program will also be leaning on municipalities to be flexible with their vaccine appointments.

“We have been preparing for the summer for a long time, and the municipalities must be prepared too so that people can get vaccinated over the summer holidays.

We will work intensely throughout the summer to continue to have the high numbers of people getting vaccinated as we do now,” Stoltenberg added.

She has also advised people that they should be prepared to be offered both doses during the summer holidays.

“Be prepared that you can be offered a vaccine, both first and second dose, through the summer, so you should plan accordingly,” Stoltenberg said.

The NIPH has previously said it aims to offer everyone their first dose by mid-July.

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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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