COVID-19 vaccination in Sweden

Vaccination against COVID-19 in Sweden started on 27 December 2020 after the approval of the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine by the European Commission.[2][3][4] In Sweden, the Public Health Agency has been commissioned by the government to create a vaccination plan.[5] Sveriges riksbank, the central bank of Sweden, predicts that efficient vaccination against COVID-19 has macroeconomic benefits.[6] As of 20 April 2022, 87.1% of people (12 years and older) in Sweden have received at least one dose, with a total of 21,491,717 doses administered.[1] At least one vaccine has been approved for all age groups 12 and older. Children younger than 12 in high risk groups can also be vaccinated. [7]

COVID-19 vaccination in Sweden
Map of Sweden showing vaccine uptake, the percent of residents aged 12+ who have had at least one dose, per county as of 20 April 2022.
  > 90%   
  85–90%
  80–85%
  75–80%
  < 75%   
Native name Vaccination mot covid-19
Date27 December 2020 (2020-12-27) – present
LocationSweden
CauseCOVID-19 pandemic in Sweden
Organised byPublic Health Agency of Sweden (FoHM), regional councils of Sweden
ParticipantsAs of 17 December 2021:[1]
17,049,272 total doses
Outcome85.3% of the population of Sweden (12 years and older) has received at least one vaccine dose
81.1% of the adult population of Sweden has received at least two doses
WebsiteFoHM's page on COVID-19 vaccination

Plan

Sweden is a part of the European Union cooperation for the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines.[8] According to this agreement, Sweden will have access to 6 million vaccine doses.[8] According to the Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, Sweden expected to get sufficient number of COVID-19 vaccines to immunise around one-fifth of the population by April 2021.[9] The initial goal was for all adults in Sweden to have been offered at least one vaccine dose before 1 July 2021;[10] this goal was later moved to 15 August 2021,[11] and then moved again to 5 September 2021.[12] The goal was postposed yet again to 19 September due to a lower amount of expected vaccine deliveries.[13] In August 2021, the Public Health Agency of Sweden made the assessment that a majority of the population would be offered a third vaccine dose by 2022, due to the emergence of new variants of SARS-CoV-2.[14]

Order of priority
Tents for vaccination at a stadium in Stockholm.

The principle followed in deciding the order of priority is that those with the greatest need for protection receive the vaccine first.[5] Elderly individuals living in care homes, healthcare workers working with risk groups and adults living with someone in the risk group will be offered vaccination during the first phase.[15] Other individuals aged 70 or older, adults who live with functional impairments as well as medical care professionals will be vaccinated in the second phase. In the third phase, other adults in the risk group will be vaccinated. Everyone else will be offered a vaccine in the fourth phase of vaccine distribution.[5] As of February 2021, the Public Health Agency had not recommended COVID-19 vaccination to children under 18 unless the child belonged to a high-risk group.[5] The recommendation was changed by the Public Health Agency in June 2021 to offer everyone 16 years and older COVID-19 vaccination,[16] and in October 2021, approved the Pfizer, but not Moderna, vaccine for those 12 and older.[17] In January 2022, Sweden decided against recommending COVID vaccines for ages 5-11, arguing that the benefits did not outweigh the risks. Children in high risk groups can, however, be vaccinated.[18]

Safety

Even when approved, the vaccine is continuously monitored for new side effects.[5] The scientific documentation of the approved vaccine is presented as a publicly accessible European Public Assessment Report.[19]

Vaccines on order
VaccineDoses orderedApprovalDeploymentStatus
Pfizer–BioNTech20 million[20] 21 December 2020[21] 27 December 2020[22] In use
Moderna3.6 million[23] 6 January 2021[21] January 2021[24] In use
Oxford–AstraZeneca6 million[25] 29 January 2021[21] February 2021[26] Discontinued[27]
Janssen4.5 million[28] 11 March 2021[21]Pending On hold[29]
Novavax2.2 million[30] 20 December 2021[21]PendingPending
CureVac4.5 million[31]AbortedAbortedAborted
Sanofi–GSK4.9 million[32]PendingPendingPending

Challenges

Vaccine hesitancy is one of the major challenges to the COVID-19 vaccination program in Sweden, with 26% of Swedes saying that they do not want to be vaccinated in a poll.[9] 46% of the poll participants said that they want the vaccine.[9] The chief epidemiologist of Sweden, Anders Tegnell, expects that more people will accept vaccination with time.[9] Another poll conducted in April–May 2021, however, shows that around nine of ten Swedes are willing to get vaccinated, with foreign-born Swedes being less inclined.[33]

Roll-out

In late January 2021, around 1,000 people, all healthcare workers, were given doses of the Moderna vaccine that had been stored at the incorrect temperature.[34]

In mid-April 2021, it was announced that Sweden was working with several other EU countries to hold negotiations with Russia over purchasing the Sputnik vaccine once the EMA had approved it.[35]

On 5 May 2021, the Stockholm region began its phase 4, opening up vaccination slots to people aged 55 to 59.[36] On 14 June 2021, over half of Swedish adults had received at least one vaccine dose, with 27% fully vaccinated.[37]

Statistics

The following chart shows the total reported number of vaccine doses administered, based on data from the Public Health Agency of Sweden's national vaccination registry (updated daily from Tuesday to Friday).[1] Following the vaccination of people under 18 years of age, the statistics for people born between 2003 and 2005 were reported separately starting 19 August 2021.[38]

By 7 April 2021, 93% of nursing home residents had at least one shot and 88% had two shots.[39][40] For people who are 65 and older who have home care with personal care, 80% had at least one shot.[40]

Vaccine sharing

In early May 2021, it was announced that Sweden has donated 1 million doses of the Oxford vaccine to the global COVAX programme aimed at providing vaccines to the developing world.[41]

References
  1. "Statistik för vaccination mot covid-19" [Statistics on vaccination against COVID-19] (in Swedish). Public Health Agency of Sweden. 17 December 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  2. Regeringen och Regeringskansliet (22 December 2020). "Vaccinering mot covid-19 inleds den 27 december". Regeringskansliet (in Swedish). Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  3. "Vaccin mot covid-19 — Folkhälsomyndigheten". www.folkhalsomyndigheten.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  4. "EU Medical Regulator approves Pfizer vaccine for use". www.thelocal.se. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  5. "Vaccine, medicine and treatment". www.krisinformation.se (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 8 January 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  6. Lindskog, Magnus. "Efficient vaccination against COVID-19 entails major macroeconomic benefits" (PDF). Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  7. reuters.com/world/europe/sweden-decides-against-recommending-covid-vaccines-kids-aged-5-12-2022-01-27/
  8. Regeringen och Regeringskansliet (20 August 2020). "Sverige ingår EU-gemensamt avtal om covid-19-vaccin". Regeringskansliet (in Swedish). Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  9. "Swedish Vaccine Skepticism Is Latest Obstacle to Herd Immunity". Bloomberg.com. 4 December 2020. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  10. Sveriges Radio. "First batch of Covid-19 vaccine now to arrive in Sweden "by Christmas" - Radio Sweden". sverigesradio.se. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  11. Sweden, Radio (1 April 2021). "Sweden will not meet vaccine goal". Sveriges Radio. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  12. "Nytt besked: Vaccinmålet flyttas fram till september" (in Swedish). Sveriges Television. 30 April 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  13. "Justerad prognos för vaccinationer mot covid-19" (in Swedish). Government of Sweden. 24 June 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  14. "Tredje dos mot covid-19 troligen nästa år" (in Swedish). Public Health Agency of Sweden. 3 August 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  15. Reuters staff (4 December 2020). "Nursing homes to get first COVID vaccinations in Sweden". Reuters. Retrieved 10 January 2021. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  16. Westesson, Kristin (22 June 2021). "FHM: 16–17-åringar ska erbjudas vaccin". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  17. reuters.com/world/europe/sweden-give-12-15-year-olds-pfizer-vaccine-rejects-moderna-2021-10-04/
  18. reuters.com/world/europe/sweden-decides-against-recommending-covid-vaccines-kids-aged-5-12-2022-01-27/
  19. "Så godkänns vaccin | Läkemedelsverket / Swedish Medical Products Agency". www.lakemedelsverket.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  20. "Ytterligare cirka 40 miljoner vaccindoser till Sverige under 2022 och 2023" [A further approximately 40 million vaccine doses to Sweden in 2022 and 2023] (Press release) (in Swedish). Ministry of Health and Social Affairs. 18 May 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  21. "Coronavaccin, vaccin mot coronaviruset (covid-19)" (in Swedish). Medical Products Agency. 20 December 2021 [28 October 2020]. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  22. "Vaccinering mot covid-19 inleds den 27 december" [Vaccination against COVID-19 begins on December 27] (Press release) (in Swedish). Ministry of Health and Social Affairs. 22 December 2020. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  23. "1,8 miljoner ytterligare doser vaccin till Sverige" [1.8 million additional vaccine doses to Sweden] (Press release) (in Swedish). Ministry of Health and Social Affairs. 7 January 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  24. "Vaccinationsläget i Region Dalarna: 14 januari 2021" [The vaccination situation in Dalarna Region: 14 January 2021] (Press release) (in Swedish). Region Dalarna. 14 January 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  25. "Sverige ingår EU-gemensamt avtal om covid-19-vaccin" [Sweden joins the collective EU COVID-19 vaccine contract] (Press release) (in Swedish). Ministry of Health and Social Affairs. 20 August 2020. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  26. "400.000 doser till Sverige i februari – "Alla suktar efter vaccin"" [400,000 more doses to Sweden in February – "Everyone wants the vaccine"]. TT News Agency. 6 February 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  27. "Användning av AstraZenecas vaccin avvecklas" [Use of AstraZeneca's vaccine is discontinued] (in Swedish). Ministry of Health and Social Affairs. 23 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  28. "Sverige deltar i EU-gemensamt vaccinavtal med Janssen Pharmaceutica NV" [Sweden joins the collective EU vaccine contract with Janssen Pharmaceutica NV] (Press release) (in Swedish). Ministry of Health and Social Affairs. 15 October 2020. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  29. "Janssens vaccin pausas i väntan på utredning från EMA" (in Swedish). Swedish Public Health Agency. 14 April 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  30. "Regeringen tecknar vaccinavtal med Novavax" [The government signs a vaccine contract with Novavax] (Press release) (in Swedish). Ministry of Health and Social Affairs. 11 August 2021. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  31. "Sverige ingår EU-gemensamt avtal om covid-19-vaccin med CureVac" [Sweden joins the collective EU COVID-19 vaccine contract with CureVac] (Press release) (in Swedish). Ministry of Health and Social Affairs. 24 November 2020. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  32. "Regeringen ingår ytterligare vaccinavtal" [The government enters into additional vaccine contracts] (Press release) (in Swedish). Ministry of Health and Social Affairs. 22 July 2021. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  33. "Fortsatt stor vilja att vaccinera sig mot covid-19" (in Swedish). Swedish Public Health Agency. 27 May 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  34. "Sweden gives 1,000 people COVID-19 shots kept at too low temperature". Reuters. 22 January 2021.
  35. Thomsen, Dante (16 April 2021). "Vaccinsamordnaren: Sverige kan få Sputnik V redan till sommaren". SVT Nyheter.
  36. Sweden, Radio (5 May 2021). "Stockholm opens for phase 4 vaccinations". Sveriges Radio.
  37. "Över hälften av Sveriges vuxna befolkning har fått vaccin mot covid-19" (in Swedish). Public Health Agency of Sweden. 14 June 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  38. "Statistik för vaccination mot covid-19" [Statistics on vaccination against COVID-19] (in Swedish). Public Health Agency of Sweden. 18 August 2021. Archived from the original on 18 August 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  39. Public Health Agency of Sweden (9 April 2021). "Veckorapport om covid-19, vecka 13" [Weekly report on covid-19, week 13] (PDF). Folkhälsomyndigheten (in Swedish). p. 1. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 October 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2022. Fram till och med den 7 april hade 93 procent av personerna som bor på särskilt boende för äldre fått minst en vaccindos och 88 procent hade fått två doser. [Up to and including 7 April, 93 percent of the people living in special housing for the elderly had received at least one vaccine dose and 88 percent had received two doses.]
  40. Public Health Agency of Sweden. "Vaccinationstäckning i prioriterade grupper" [Vaccination coverage in priority groups]. Folkhälsomyndigheten (in Swedish). Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  41. "COVAX gets a boost from Moderna deal, Sweden's donation of Covid vaccines". CNBC. 3 May 2021.
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