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Denmark extends Covid-19 vaccination programme by a further four weeks

Ritzau/The Local
Ritzau/The Local - [email protected]
Denmark extends Covid-19 vaccination programme by a further four weeks
Region Hovedstaden covid-19 vaccinecenter under generalprøve i vaccinationscenteret i Øksnehallen i København, fredag den 26. februar 2021. I løbet af fredagen forventes fem tusinde københavnere vaccineret i centeret.. (Foto: Philip Davali/Ritzau Scanpix)

The date by which Denmark hopes to have completed its Covid-19 vaccination programme has been put back by a further four weeks.

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The change in schedule can be seen on the updated version of the Danish Health Authority’s Covid-19 vaccination calendar, published on Thursday.

In a press statement, the health authority said that the new calendar is a direct consequence of the decision to suspend the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine in Denmark.

The date by Denmark expects to have vaccinated all adults, including second doses, is now August 15th. The country earlier expected to complete vaccines by June 27th, then extended this date to July 18th.

The new completion date “illustrates a worst-case scenario”, the Danish Health Authority said in the statement.

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“(The calendar) shows that everyone in Denmark aged 16 or over can be offered the vaccine no later than (the second week of July) and everyone can be fully vaccinated four weeks later,” the authority wrote.

“But it is important to stress that the vaccination plan will look better if we, on re-evaluation in (two weeks’ time) resume the use of AstraZeneca,” it added.

Danish health authorities said Thursday they were temporarily suspending the use of AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine as a precaution after some patients developed blood clots since receiving the jab, one of whom died.

The move comes “following reports of serious cases of blood clots among people vaccinated with AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine”, the Danish Health Authority said in a statement. 

But it cautiously added that “it has not been determined, at the time being, that there is a link between the vaccine and the blood clots”.

Meanwhile on Thursday, the Danish Health Authority also recommended a simplification of the country’s vaccine strategy, according to Ritzau.

Under the recommendation, the country would prioritise vaccinations more closely on age than is the current practice, though people in vulnerable groups would remain highly prioritised as is the case currently.

READ ALSO: Denmark suspends use of AstraZeneca vaccine

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