MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

No booster doses of COVID-19 vaccine in Denmark

Denmark is one of the countries to have carried out the most coronavirus tests per inhabitant in the world

Denmark's health authorities decided Friday that no fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine is to be applied and that there was no need for a booster dose to those aged under 18, thanks to the high level of immunization among the population, in addition to Omicron's lesser severity as well as other seasonal considerations.

Denmark has alredy lifted all restrictions ten days ago, the first country in Europe toi take such a step.

The General Directorate of Health has found that those aged over 85 as well as nursing home residents are well protected and no further vaccination was needed.

”There are no health reasons to offer the third dose to those under 18 years of age, because it has not yet been approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and because that age group already has high immunity and little risk of serious illness if infected with Omicron,” the Danish authorities said in a statement.

In the present scenario, Denmark plans to close its vaccination program in the spring, but it will still continue to recommend vaccinating all children between 5 and 11 years of age, unlike the rest of the Scandinavian countries and Germany, and despite the opposition of groups of doctors and Danish parents.

Denmark is one of the countries to have carried out the most coronavirus tests per inhabitant in the world. Hospitalizations of COVID-19 patients remain at record levels, although up to 40% of the cases are people who were admitted for other reasons.

Accordint to the latest reports, 80.9% of Danes have received the full vaccination treatment and 61.3% even took a booster dose.