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Denmark allows AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines to be given by private suppliers

Ritzau/The Local
Ritzau/The Local - [email protected]
Denmark allows AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines to be given by private suppliers
Johnson & Johnson's coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines are kept refrigerated at the Forem vaccination centre in Pamplona, Spain, April 22, 2021. REUTERS/Vincent West

A new scheme came into effect on Thursday allowing people in Denmark to choose to have the Covid-19 vaccines from AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson.

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The vaccines from the two companies have both been withdrawn by Danish health authorities from the national vaccination programme. Only the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are in general use in Denmark, which currently expects to complete vaccination of its population by the end of August.

But it will soon be possible to choose to have either the AstraZeneca or Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

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Health minister Magnus Heunicke signed an order allowing the vaccines to be chosen, the Ministry of Health confirmed in a statement.

The order, which comes into effect on Thursday, enables private providers to give the vaccinations on a contractual basis.

As such, it may become possible to access Covid-19 vaccination earlier than would otherwise be possible via the national programme. Consultations and vaccinations are expected to begin soon, news wire Ritzau reports.

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“This will take place after consultation with a doctor where you will be given thorough information and must give informed consent if you wish to make use of this arrangement,” Heunicke said in the statement.

“There is broad political support for the arrangement, which is another important element of our vaccination effort,” he added.

The vaccines from the two companies were taken out of the national programme due to a very small risk of serious side effects combined with the stable situation of the Covid-19 pandemic in Denmark reducing the urgency to use them, health authorities previously said.

Private company Practio said it is prepared to vaccinate using AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson if it is awarded the contract to do so.

Co-founder of Practio Jonas Nilson told newspaper Jyllands-Posten that as many as 2,000 people have already put themselves on the waiting list for a vaccine.

Nilson expects the company to begin giving first doses from next week with as many as 100 doctors showing interest in vaccinating for the firm, according to the newspaper report.

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