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VACCINE

Denmark allows AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines to be given by private suppliers

A new scheme came into effect on Thursday allowing people in Denmark to choose to have the Covid-19 vaccines from AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson.

Published: 20 May 2021 10:39 CEST
Denmark allows AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines to be given by private suppliers
Denmark is to allow private companies to dispense Covid-19 vaccines from AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson. Photo: Vincent West/Reuters/Ritzau Scanpix

The vaccines from the two companies have both been withdrawn by Danish health authorities from the national vaccination programme. Only the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are in general use in Denmark, which currently expects to complete vaccination of its population by the end of August.

But it will soon be possible to choose to have either the AstraZeneca or Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

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Health minister Magnus Heunicke signed an order allowing the vaccines to be chosen, the Ministry of Health confirmed in a statement.

The order, which comes into effect on Thursday, enables private providers to give the vaccinations on a contractual basis.

As such, it may become possible to access Covid-19 vaccination earlier than would otherwise be possible via the national programme. Consultations and vaccinations are expected to begin soon, news wire Ritzau reports.

“This will take place after consultation with a doctor where you will be given thorough information and must give informed consent if you wish to make use of this arrangement,” Heunicke said in the statement.

“There is broad political support for the arrangement, which is another important element of our vaccination effort,” he added.

The vaccines from the two companies were taken out of the national programme due to a very small risk of serious side effects combined with the stable situation of the Covid-19 pandemic in Denmark reducing the urgency to use them, health authorities previously said.

Private company Practio said it is prepared to vaccinate using AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson if it is awarded the contract to do so.

Co-founder of Practio Jonas Nilson told newspaper Jyllands-Posten that as many as 2,000 people have already put themselves on the waiting list for a vaccine.

Nilson expects the company to begin giving first doses from next week with as many as 100 doctors showing interest in vaccinating for the firm, according to the newspaper report.

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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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