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COVID-19

Covid booster shots in Sweden: Who can get them and how to book

Now that Sweden has started offering booster shots, some of The Local's readers have been wondering how to go about booking, and whether they're eligible. Here's our guide on how it's done.

Covid booster shots in Sweden: Who can get them and how to book
Sweden has started administering booster shots of the Covid-19 vaccine. Photo: Johan Nilsson/TT

Who is eligible in the first round?

The first round of Covid-19 booster shots are now being offered to some groups of Swedish society.

People eligible for the first round of boosters include:

  • Those born in 1956 or earlier (aged 65 or over)
  • Those living in elderly care homes
  • Those receiving at-home care
  • Those working in elderly care homes or with at-home care

Additionally, there are rules on how much time must have passed since your second dose before you are eligible for a third dose.

If you are over 65, you need to wait five months after your second dose before you are able to get your third. If you are in one of the other groups eligible for a booster shot of the Covid-19 vaccine, you will need to wait six months.

Who will be eligible in the second round, and when will that start?

The second round of booster shots will be given once 80 percent of those aged 65-79 have received their first dose. This will be measured on a regional level, meaning that the start date of the second round of booster shots will be slightly different in different regions, as regions each individually reach this milestone.

Once this goal has been achieved, the following people will be eligible for a booster dose:

  • Those aged 50-64
  • Adults receiving LSS assistance, as well as adults receiving personal assistant benefits due to a disability
  • Adults in the following risk groups:
    • Chronic cardiovascular disease, including strokes and hypertension (high blood pressure)
    • Chronic lung disease such as COPD and severe and unstable asthma
    • Other conditions that lead to impaired lung function or impaired coughing and secretion stagnation (for example, extreme obesity, neuromuscular diseases or multiple disabilities)
    • Chronic liver or kidney failure
    • Type 1 and type 2 diabetes
    • Conditions that severely weaken the immune system due to an illness or treatment
    • Down syndrome
    • Pregnant women with certain pregnancy-related risk factors – such as age over 35, hypertension, diabetes, a BMI over 30, or other factors determined after individual assessment.

Once 60 percent of those aged 50-64 have received their booster dose, doses will be extended to those aged 18-49, prioritised by age.

How do I book my booster shot?

For those who are eligible for booster shots, the booking system varies depending on which region you live in – check healthcare website 1177 for details if you are unsure what applies to you (click välj region in the menu bar to select specific information for your region).

In some regions you will be contacted directly by your healthcare centre (vårdcentral) where you got your first two vaccine doses and given an appointment, in others you will need to contact your healthcare centre yourself for an appointment or go to a drop-in vaccination service.

You should take your Covid pass or your proof of vaccination with you and ID.

Those living in care homes will be vaccinated at home.

The third dose is, just like the first two, free for everyone in Sweden, including foreign residents without a Swedish identity number (personnummer). If you do lack a personnummer, you may find it easiest to go to a drop-in service once you become eligible for the third dose, rather than try to book an appointment, but the best and most efficient procedure will likely depend on which region you live in.

The Local has contacted the Public Health Agency for more information on how this will work for those who are eligible for booster shots but received their first and second vaccines outside of Sweden.

Thanks to everyone who has got in touch to ask about booster shots. You are always welcome to get in touch with our editorial team at [email protected] if you have further questions. We may not be able to reply to every email, but we read them all and they help inform our coverage.

Member comments

  1. Tack för uppdateringen! Please keep this story & booster shot availability up to date, as my family will be watching and waiting.

  2. Once again this plan shows no flexibility to those of us who were vaccinated abroad – since vaccinations were available earlier in the USA my shots will already be over 9 months old starting next month, yet it seems unlikely that my age group will have access to a booster shot in Sweden for many months to come.

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READER QUESTIONS

Reader question: How do I get a Covid booster jab in Sweden?

The Covid vaccine is still free for everyone in Sweden, even if you don't belong to a group at particular risk of serious infection.

Reader question: How do I get a Covid booster jab in Sweden?

It is possible to get vaccinated against Covid at any time, but the Public Health Agency recommends that people generally wait until after November 7th, when an updated vaccine against the virus will be available. This is also to coincide with the start of seasonal influenza vaccinations and because the agency believes that the timing will be ideal to get those at risk vaccinated before the infection peak.

The Covid vaccine is free for everyone and the flu vaccine is additionally free for over-65s and people who belong to risk groups (see below for more information). People who don’t fit this category can still get the Covid vaccine for free at any time, but they have to pay around 200-400 kronor to get the flu vaccine, depending on where in Sweden they live. They will likely also have to wait a few weeks after the launch of the seasonal flu vaccination campaign on November 7th until everyone who needs the flu vaccine has had a chance to get it.

How to book a time for the Covid vaccine or booster varies depending on which Swedish region you live in.

Some regions may send out reminders to people in risk groups, but in other regions people have to contact health centres themselves.

Here’s how it works in Sweden’s three biggest regions as an example: In Stockholm, you can book a time in the region’s Alltid öppet app, contact your health centre or a vaccination centre directly, or visit a drop-in vaccination centre. In Västra Götaland, you can book a time online here or contact a health centre. In Skåne, you can book a time online, visit a drop-in centre or call a health centre.

The best way to find the regional rules is to go to the Covid vaccine page on national healthcare website 1177.se and choose your region (välj region) at the top of the page. If you don’t have a Swedish personal identity number, it’s usually best to call a health centre directly.

Here are the specific Covid vaccine recommendations for all age brackets:

Under-18s

Sweden no longer has a recommendation in place for children and teenagers aged 12-17 to get vaccinated against Covid. The Public Health Agency recommends that under-18s only get vaccinated in individual cases on a doctor’s specific recommendation.

People aged 18-49

There’s no longer any recommendation to get vaccinated against Covid for people aged 18-49 who don’t have an underlying health condition. However, people who belong to this group and would like to get vaccinated may do so, and the vaccine is free for them.

If it’s a booster, at least nine months must have passed since the last dose.

See below for information for over-18s with an underlying health condition, including pregnancy.

People aged 50-64

Unvaccinated people aged 50-64 are recommended to get one dose of the Covid vaccine this winter.

There’s no general recommendation for vaccinated people in the same age bracket, but the same rules as above apply to them: the booster dose is free and nine months must have passed since the last one.

People aged 65-79 and over-18s with an underlying health condition

People aged 65-79 are recommended to get a dose of the Covid vaccine this winter, regardless of whether or not they have previously been vaccinated. If they’ve had confirmed Covid-19 after August 1st and are in good health, they can choose not to get a booster dose, but if there’s any doubt whether or not they actually had Covid, they too are recommended to get a dose of the vaccine this winter.

If people in this group got vaccinated ahead of the autumn before the updated vaccine was available, they may get another dose, but at least three months have to pass between the doses.

The same recommendations apply to people who are aged over 18 and belong to a group especially at risk of developing serious Covid infection. These groups include pregnant people (after week 12) and adults with conditions such as chronic heart or lung disease, obesity, liver or kidney failure, diabetes, and people with weakened immune systems due to illness or ongoing medical treatment.

The flu vaccine is available for free for over-18s with underlying health conditions, including pregnancy, and over-65s and you can get both vaccines at the same time. The influenza vaccination season will start from November 7th, although there may be regional variations.

People aged 80 or older

People who are older than 80 or live in care homes for the elderly are recommended to get vaccinated against Covid this winter. If they’ve already had a booster this autumn, they may get another dose once the updated vaccine is available, at least three months after their last dose.

This guide is meant to be helpful and was correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication. If in doubt about anything regarding your medical situation or vaccine recommendations, always speak with a healthcare provider. You can’t book a vaccine via Sweden’s national healthcare helpline 1177, but you can call them for advice in Swedish or English.

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