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COVID-19

Denmark to offer earlier Covid-19 boosters to 18-39 year-olds

Denmark will invite people aged 18-39 for a booster vaccination against Covid-19 after four and a half months, in line with the timescale for older age groups.

Published: 23 December 2021 14:23 CET
Denmark will now offer everyone over the age of 18 a Covid-19 booster jab 20 weeks after their original vaccinations.
Denmark will now offer everyone over the age of 18 a Covid-19 booster jab 20 weeks after their original vaccinations. Photo: Philip Davali/Ritzau Scanpix

People in the 18-39 age range will now be able to book a booster jab four and a half months (140 days or 20 weeks) after the final dose of the original course of vaccination.

Over-40s have already been offered earlier boosters since the middle of December. Previously, the booster Covid-19 vaccine was offered after five and a half months.

“We are in the middle of an epidemic with escalation infections and we need to prevent both transmission and disease with the Omicron variant. That is the reason (for bringing boosters forward),” Danish Health Authority director Søren Brostrøm said at a briefing, as reported by broadcaster DR.

“Almost exactly half of all infection cases we are seeing at the moment are in the age group 18-39,” he also said.

Covid-19 vaccinations including booster jabs are normally booked in Denmark via the vacciner.dk platform. The website is available in English and requires users to log in using the secure NemID digital signature.

READ ALSO: Denmark to require all travellers to take Covid-19 test for entry

Member comments

  1. How does this work for those who received the J&J vaccine plus the moderna booster? Do they receive an additional booster invitation after 4.5 months after the first booster?

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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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