Denmark is the first country to halt its COVID-19 vaccination program as the virus is under control. Here’s all you need to know about the policy.
Denmark halts COVID-19 vaccination program
On Wednesday, Denmark announced that it is halting its COVID-19 vaccination program. “Spring has arrived, vaccine coverage in the Danish population is high, and the epidemic has reversed,” stated the Danish Health Authority. “Therefore, the National Board of Health is now ending the broad vaccination efforts against COVID-19 for this season,” it added. According to the authority, the immunization campaign will be suspended from May 15. However, everyone can finish their courses.
Denmark began its immunization campaign against coronavirus following Christmas 2020. Around 4.8 million citizens have been vaccinated and over 3.6 million got the booster shot. “At the same time, many people have been infected since the omicron variant became the dominant strain of the virus,” it stated. This means that the immunity levels are high.
“We are in a good place. We have good control of the epidemic”
Additionally, Bolette Soborg, the unit manager at Denmark’s National Board of Health confirmed the news. “We are in a good place. We have good control of the epidemic, which seems to be subsiding. Admission rates (to the hospital) are stable and we also expect them to fall soon. Therefore, we are rounding up the mass vaccination program against COVID-19,” he explained.
This move comes as the coronavirus situation across the world keeps changing. Both Europe and the US are abandoning restrictions but China is imposing lockdowns. Instead of scraping the COVID-19 vaccination program completely, the Danish Health and Medicines Authority is considering vaccination again if the virus keeps mutating. After all, over the last two and a half years, new variants emerged. They eroded vaccine efficacies but are preventing serious infections, death, and hospitalization. Hence, the authority is following the development of the virus closely.