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One in three children in Denmark accept Covid-19 vaccine invitation

Around a third of 12-15-year-olds in four of Denmark’s five regional health authorities have so far accepted an invitation to be vaccinated against Covid-19.

Published: 23 July 2021 15:04 CEST
One in three children in Denmark accept Covid-19 vaccine invitation
File photo: Philip Davali/Ritzau Scanpix

That is evidenced by the number of young people within the age range to have already received their first dose of the vaccine or to have arranged an appointment to do so in the North Jutland, Central Jutland, South Denmark and Zealand regions.

Invitations have been sent to 132,603 people in total in the former three regions, with 44,187 having accepted the offer. In Zealand, around 11,400 have accepted following the sending of 36,000 invitations, according to figures reported by news wire Ritzau, accurate as of Thursday.

The news agency had not obtained data from the remaining region, Greater Copenhagen, at the time of writing.

The State Serum Institute, the source for the data, has not released details of the number of accepted invitations which have already attended vaccination appointments.

Health authorities approved vaccination of children aged 12-15 earlier this month.

READ ALSO: Children aged 12-15 in Denmark begin Covid-19 vaccination

The decision is not universally supported, with some parents showing hesitation to allow their children to be vaccinated and paediatricians not fully supporting the Danish Health Authority advice to vaccinate children against Covid-19.

The deputy leader of the Danish society for paediatricians (Dansk Pædiatrisk Selskab), Bolette Friderichsen earlier stated that she could not wholeheartedly support the recommendation.

“On one side it appears that children rarely get serious side effects from the vaccine, but conversely we see that they rarely become seriously ill if they are infected (with Covid-19),” Friderichsen said earlier this month.

Health authorities in the EU and United States have approved the Pfizer vaccine for children aged 12-15. That is the vaccine used by Denmark for the age group.

The Danish Health Authority has recommended vaccination of children against Covid-19.

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HEALTH

Can you get a covid vaccine in Denmark if you’re not in the at-risk groups?

If you’re not in one of the ‘high risk’ categories, a covid booster can be hard to come by in Denmark.

Published: 5 February 2024 13:53 CET
Can you get a covid vaccine in Denmark if you’re not in the at-risk groups?

A growing body of research indicates that keeping your covid vaccination up to date decreases your risk of long covid—a range of cardiovascular, neurological and respiratory symptoms that can be debilitating. But accessing the vaccine booster is not straightforward in Denmark if you are not within one of the ‘risk groups’ for the national annual booster scheme.

Ahead of winter 2023, the Danish government made a significant change to its covid vaccination policy. From November 2022 until October 2023, anyone who wanted to get vaccinated could do so at the government vaccination centres for a modest fee.

But in October 2023, the Danish government said it was bowing out of the elective booster game, since “vaccines will be sold on the private market under normal market conditions,” the Danish Health Ministry (Sundhedsministeriet) wrote.

READ ALSO: Covid-19 no longer given special status in Denmark

But it seems pharmacies and private clinics didn’t step in to fill the void the way the Danish government expected—although public health websites linked out to the Apotek pharmacy chain as a resource for voluntary covid vaccination, Apotek pharmacy confirmed to the Local Denmark via email that they did not offer paid covid vaccines this year.

As of February 5th, the only option for a voluntary covid booster in the Greater Copenhagen metropolitan area is through Copenhagen Medical, a private clinic in Sankt Annæ Plads near Nyhavn that offers a range of travel vaccines and tests. The Pfizer booster costs 920 kroner.

Other companies offer paid vaccinations, but the closest clinics are at least 30 km away (for instance, the Danske Lægers Vaccinations Service offers paid covid vaccines at their Roskilde and Hillerød locations).

The public covid vaccine campaign ended on January 15th, by when 1.1 million people had received a Covid vaccine during the 2023-2024 season in Denmark, according to the State Serum Institute, Denmark’s infectious disease agency.

SSI told the Local that it is unable to determine how many of those were through the public vaccination programme and how many were paid for at private clinics.

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