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COVID-19 VACCINES

Visitors to Denmark to be allowed to buy Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccines

Denmark is to release its unused Covid-19 vaccines from Johnson & Johnson for purchase by private companies, who will be able to offer them to individual customers including visitors from abroad.

Published: 13 September 2021 16:21 CEST
Visitors to Denmark to be allowed to buy Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccines
File photo: Pool/Reuters/Ritzau Scanpix

Private companies are to be allowed to buy Denmark’s remaining Johnson & Johnson vaccines from September 14th, the Health Ministry confirmed in a statement.

The State Serum Institute, the national infectious disease agency, will process orders from companies who want to offer vaccinations to customers, the ministry said.

A similar model is already used for travel vaccines and other types of vaccination which are not included in the public health vaccination programme.

As such, it will be possible to purchase a Johnson & Johnson vaccination privately, subject to medical approval.

The arrangement will be open to anyone located in Denmark, the health ministry said in the statement. The ministry expects the primary target group for the vaccinations to be people with short term stays in Denmark who do not have access to vaccination through the country’s public health service.

Sailors, tourists and foreign-based Danes may be amongst those who make up that group, it said.

Although the Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca vaccines were both removed from Denmark’s national vaccination programme earlier this year, they were made available to the public via an opt-in scheme run by private company Practio. Access to vaccination via this route required a consultation with a doctor, who could then approve the applicant for vaccination. The service was free to Denmark residents.

The opt-in scheme was withdrawn on September 1st with demand having dropped away as vaccination coverage reached a majority of the population.

Medical consultation will also be a requirement for private purchase of vaccines, the Ministry of Health states.

The State Serum Institute will sell the vaccines at cost price plus expenses incurred by the agency, according to the statement. Price for vaccination can be set by the companies which decide to offer the service.

Orders will be processed from September 14th. Only companies with the relevant medical staff and authorisations will be permitted to purchase supplies of the vaccine.

READ ALSO: Will people in Denmark who got the Johnson & Johnson jab get booster shots?

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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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