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]
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CureVac | Request withdrawn | No |
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:
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 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]
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]
COVID-19 vaccination in Europe | |
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Sovereign states |
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States with limited recognition | |
Dependencies and other entities |