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COVID-19 VACCINES

Denmark sells half a million vaccine doses to New Zealand

Denmark has agreed to sell half a million doses of the Pfizer vaccine to New Zealand, off-loading some of the surplus doses it purchased to make sure it would have enough to cover the entire population.

Published: 12 September 2021 10:22 CEST
Denmark sells half a million vaccine doses to New Zealand
A video grab of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden getting her first dose of the Pfizer vaccine back in June. Photo: Tvnz/Reuters/Ritzau Scanpix

In a press release issued on Sunday, Magnus Heunicke said the country would not need the doses even if it decided to give third booster doses.

“From the beginning, we have invested heavily in buying a wide range of vaccines for the Danish population,” he said.

“Today we have a surplus of mRNA vaccines that we do not need at home – even though we are faced with having to give people a third shot, and excess vaccines must, of course, go out and contribute to the global pandemic fight.”

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The country’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern on Sunday thanked Denmark’s prime minister Mette Frederiksen “for the great cooperation” in a tweet.

Some 73.2 percent of the Danish population have now been fully vaccinated.

New Zealand has also bought surplus vaccine doses from Spain.

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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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