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COVID-19 VACCINES

Denmark to offer Covid-19 booster jab to Johnson & Johnson vaccinated

People aged over 65 and those who received the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine are amongst those who will soon be offered booster vaccinations in Denmark.

Published: 28 September 2021 15:43 CEST
Denmark to offer Covid-19 booster jab to Johnson & Johnson vaccinated
People who were vaccinated with the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine in Denmark are to be offered a Pfizer or Moderna shot as a booster jab. Photo: Dado Ruvic/Reuters/Ritzau Scanpix

The Danish Health Authority in a statement on Tuesday set out the national plan for upcoming Covid-19 booster vaccinations.

Four specific groups will be offered a third jab in the coming months, according to the agency.

They are: people over the age of 65, health care personnel, people in high risk groups and those who were vaccinated with the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Denmark’s revaccination scheme is already underway, with a majority of care home residents and people with particularly weakened immune systems already given a third jab. People over 85 years old will begin revaccination this week.

The groups named on Tuesday will then be offered boosters.

An exact date for the beginning of this third phase is currently not set, according to the health authority.

“The precise time for when we will begin (revaccinating the third priority group) depends on additional data, in particular in relation to drop-offs in immunity in the groups in question and side effects,” the authority states.

“We are also awaiting EU approval for the use of the vaccines for revaccination of these groups,” the statement also reads.

But revaccination of people who were given the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been confirmed and the authority recommends it commence from October 1st.

Revaccination of those previously given the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be with one of the mRNA vaccines currently used in Denmark’s mainstream vaccination programme. Those are the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

Around 46,000 residents of Denmark received the “one-and-done” Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine was removed from the mainstream Danish vaccination scheme in early May due to concerns that a rare blood clotting condition might be associated with the jab.

But it was subsequently distributed via an opt-in system run in parallel with the national scheme, offering residents in Denmark a chance to receive the J&J or AstraZeneca vaccines ahead of the rest of their age group in the national scheme. 

The opt-in scheme expired at the beginning of September.

READ ALSO: ‘Everyone in Denmark will have a third vaccine dose’: Health Minister

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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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