COVID-19 vaccination in Denmark


Denmark started vaccinating against COVID-19 on 27 December 2020.[1] Vaccination in Denmark is free of cost and voluntary.[1] It is available to all residents of Denmark and those from abroad staying for more than 30 days in Denmark.[1] Denmark has one of the highest levels of COVID-19 vaccination in the European Union as of the end of September 2021.[2] In April 2022, Denmark announced the suspension of its COVID-19 vaccination program, making it the first country in the world to do so.[3] As of October 2022 the Danish Health Authorities recommend a booster vaccination to people aged 50 and over, as well as selected risk groups. They do so due to the expectation of an increasing number of COVID-19 infections during the autumn and winter months.[4]

Vaccines on order

Danish guidance papers regarding COVID-19 vaccination

There are several COVID-19 vaccines at various stages of development around the world.

Vaccine Approval Deployment
Pfizer–BioNTech 21 December 2020 27 December 2020
Moderna 6 January 2021 12 January 2021
Oxford-AstraZeneca 29 January 2021 7 February 2021
Janssen J&J 11 March 2021 April 2021
Novavax 20 December 2021 Pending
Valneva Pending Pending
Sanofi–GSK Pending Pending
CureVac  Request withdrawn No

Vaccine calendar 2021

The priority order for vaccination and scheduled time period for administering vaccine for each priority group is determined using a Vaccine Calendar in Denmark.[5] The 10 target groups in descending order of priority are as follows:

  1. Residents in nursing homes.
  2. People over 65 years who receive both personal care and practical assistance.
  3. People aged over 85 years.
  4. Healthcare professionals, elderly care professionals and others who are identified to be at risk for infection or are performing a critical function in the society.
  5. Persons with pre-existing conditions who have significantly higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19.
  6. Relatives of individuals or caregivers who are at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19.
  7. Age group of 80–84.
  8. Age group of 75–79.
  9. Age group of 65–74.
  10. Other age groups.

As of June 2021, children younger than 12 years and pregnant women are not offered vaccination in Denmark.[6] As of September 2022, a booster shot is no longer recommended for people under the age of 50 in that country.[7]

Children

Children and adolescents rarely become severely ill from the Omicron variant of COVID-19. From 1 July 2022, it was no longer possible for children and adolescents aged under 18 to get the first injection and, from 1 September 2022, it was no longer possible for them to get the second injection. A very limited number of children at particularly higher risk of becoming severely ill will still be offered vaccination based on an individual assessment by a doctor.[8]

Available vaccines

Denmark uses Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines. Denmark was the first country in Europe to stop using Oxford-AstraZeneca as well as Janssen J&J vaccines by citing blood clots as side effects, despite the approval of these vaccines by the European Medicines Agency.[9][10] As of May 2021, it became possible for Danish citizens to opt-in to receive any of these vaccines, although these vaccines were not included in the Danish vaccination program.[11]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Danske Regioner - The Danish COVID-19 vaccination programme". www.regioner.dk (in dansk). Archived from the original on 3 February 2022. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  2. ↑ Kottasová, Ivana (1 October 2021). "They have all the vaccines they need, yet these EU nations are still miles behind their neighbors". CNN. Archived from the original on 2021-10-01. Retrieved 2021-10-01.
  3. ↑ Ellyatt, Holly (2022-04-28). "Denmark becomes the first country to halt its Covid vaccination program". CNBC. Archived from the original on 2022-05-05. Retrieved 2022-05-05.
  4. ↑ Sundhedsstyrelsen, sst (2022-04-28). "Authorities recommend a booster shot". SST.DK. Archived from the original on 2022-10-03. Retrieved 2022-10-04.
  5. ↑ "Vaccination calendar". www.sst.dk. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  6. ↑ "Who are offered vaccination?". www.sst.dk. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  7. ↑ "COVID-19: Denmark currently not offering booster shots to those under 50". MSN. Archived from the original on 2022-09-16. Retrieved 2022-09-16.
  8. ↑ "Vaccination against covid-19". www.sst.dk. Archived from the original on 16 December 2022. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  9. ↑ "Denmark offers AstraZeneca and J&J COVID-19 vaccines to volunteers". euronews. 20 May 2021. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  10. ↑ "Denmark drops Johnson and Johnson COVID vaccine over side effect fears". euronews. 3 May 2021. Archived from the original on 23 January 2022. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  11. ↑ "Tilvalgsordningen for Covid-19 vacciner træder i kraft i denne uge". sum.dk (in dansk). Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
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