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Norway to lift last national Covid measures two weeks earlier than planned

An extra shipment of Covid-19 vaccines means Norway will scrap the last remaining national coronavirus restrictions two weeks earlier than previously anticipated, the government announced on Friday.

Norway to lift last national Covid measures two weeks earlier than planned
A boost to Norway's vaccine program means it is planning on lifting measures earlier than planned. Photo by Steven Lasry on Unsplash

As a result of EU cooperation, Norway will have access to one million extra Moderna Covid vaccines, meaning it is now planning on lifting the final restrictions in the first half of September.

On Friday, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) estimated that everybody would be offered their second jab by September 5th and be fully vaccinated by September 12th as a result of the extra Moderna doses. 

The extra jabs will come from Poland, which no longer needs them. The one million more shots than anticipated is in addition to the 358,000 additional coronavirus vaccines Norway has received from Lithuania, Bulgaria and Romania.

The doses were secured through the EU’s joint procurement scheme.

The vaccines will arrive from the beginning of next week and will be rolled out to municipalities from the week beginning August 23rd.

Earlier this week, the Norwegian government said it would ditch the last remaining national measures at the end of September. This was when they expected everyone over 18 to be fully vaccinated.

READ MORE: Norway sets rough date for end of national Covid measures

Due to the significant boost the unwanted doses from Poland will provide to the Norwegian vaccination programme, the government is now expecting that it will be able to lift the last few national measures around two weeks earlier.

“With this delivery, all adults over the age of 18 will be fully vaccinated during the first two weeks of September. This means that Norway can return to a more normal everyday life more quickly,” Prime Minister Erna Solberg said in a statement.

So far, just under 90 percent of those over 18 have received their first vaccine, and just over 50 percent have received their final jab, according to the NIPH’s latest figures.

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HEALTH

Covid-19 still causing 1,000 deaths a week in Europe, WHO warns

The World Health Organization's European office warned on Tuesday the risk of Covid-19 has not gone away, saying it was still responsible for nearly 1,000 deaths a week in the region. And the real figure may be much higher.

Covid-19 still causing 1,000 deaths a week in Europe, WHO warns

The global health body on May 5 announced that the Covid-19 pandemic was no longer deemed a “global health emergency.”

“Whilst it may not be a global public health emergency, however, Covid-19 has not gone away,” WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge told reporters.

The WHO’s European region comprises 53 countries, including several in central Asia.

“Close to 1,000 new Covid-19 deaths continue to occur across the region every week, and this is an underestimate due to a drop in countries regularly reporting Covid-19 deaths to WHO,” Kluge added, and urged authorities to ensure vaccination coverage of at least 70 percent for vulnerable groups.

Kluge also said estimates showed that one in 30, or some 36 million people, in the region had experienced so called “long Covid” in the last three years, which “remains a complex condition we still know very little about.”

“Unless we develop comprehensive diagnostics and treatment for long Covid, we will never truly recover from the pandemic,” Kluge said, encouraging more research in the area which he called an under-recognised condition.

Most countries in Europe have dropped all Covid safety restrictions but some face mask rules remain in place in certain countries in places like hospitals.

Although Spain announced this week that face masks will no longer be required in certain healthcare settings, including hospitals and pharmacies, with a couple of exceptions.

Sweden will from July 1st remove some of its remaining Covid recommendations for the public, including advice to stay home and avoid close contact with others if you’re ill or have Covid symptoms.

The health body also urged vigilance in the face of a resurgence of mpox, having recorded 22 new cases across the region in May, and the health impact of heat waves.

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