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COVID-19 VACCINES

Danish agency reopens compensation cases for rashes after Covid-19 vaccination

Five patients whose claims for compensation were rejected after they developed skin rashes following Covid-19 vaccination will have their cases reopened.

Published: 23 December 2022 10:05 CET
Danish agency reopens compensation cases for rashes after Covid-19 vaccination
Denmark's patient compensation agency is to reopen cases for a small number of patients who developed chronic rashes after being vaccinated against Covid-19. File photo: Philip Davali/Ritzau Scanpix

The patients developed hives (nældefeber in Danish), also known as urticaria: a red, bumpy skin rash that can be physically painful, after receiving Covid-19 vaccination.

Their initial compensation claims were rejected but will now be looked at again, agency Danish Patient Compensation (Patienterstatningen) said in a statement on Friday.

The cases relate to chronic hives as a possible side effect of vaccination with both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

The rash is common and can occur following an infection or as a result of an allergic reaction to medication as well as insect bites or foods.

The compensation agency has reviewed 13 rejected claims and will reopen 5 of those claims, it said.

The agency has also decided to take a second look at a case of tinnitus as a side effect of vaccination with the AstraZeneca vaccine. A total of eight such rejected claims were reviewed.

AstraZeneca’s vaccine was only used for a limited time in the Danish national Covid-19 vaccination programme before being withdrawn. The Moderna and Pfizer jabs were the primary vaccines in the programme.

The director of the Danish Patient Compensation, Karen-Inger Bast, said that new knowledge is continually emerging in relation to the side effects.

“We reopen cases if it proves that patients might have the right to compensation after all. So they don’t need to keep themselves updated,” she said in the statement.

“The next step will be to assess whether patients have, for example, developed hives to such a serious extent that it can give compensation,” she said.

People with ongoing side effects are encouraged by Danish Patient Compensation to contact the agency.

“If you have a serious side effect, please contact us. That might be something like chronic hives or tinnitus with reduced hearing that coincided with having the vaccine,” she said.

READ ALSO: Over 1.5 million Danes vaccinated against influenza and Covid-19 during late 2022

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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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