Advertisement

Explained: How does Denmark’s voluntary system work for AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines?

Michael Barrett
Michael Barrett - [email protected]
Explained: How does Denmark’s voluntary system work for AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines?
Vacciner bliver klargjort, da Region Hovedstaden vaccinerer i vaccinationscenteret i Snekkersten Idrætscenter i Helsingør Kommune, mandag den 12. april 2021. Mandag skal 100.000 vaccineres mod covid-19. Det er mere end tre gange så mange som den hidtil største vaccinationsdag i februar. Regionerne skal stressteste logistikken omkring vaccinationscentrene, så de er klar til den helt store udrulning.. (Foto: Philip Davali/Ritzau Scanpix)

People in Denmark can register for medical consultation with a view to being given a Covid-19 vaccine from AstraZeneca or Johnson & Johnson outside of the country’s national vaccination programme.

Advertisement

Earlier in May, health authorities signed an agreement with a private company, Practio, allowing the Covid-19 vaccines from the two companies to be distributed under an informed consent system.

The vaccines from J&J and AstraZeneca have both been from the national vaccination programme because 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.

People interesting in receiving one of the vaccines must register their interest via Practio’s website.

When registering, you will be asked to provide details including your age and some medical information and asked to give some background as to why you are interested in opting for one of the two vaccines.

Advertisement

You will also be asked which of the two vaccines you would prefer to receive and asked to answer some simple questions on basic information provided during the registration process.

Once you have submitted your registration, you will receive a confirmation email. At a later date, you will be offered an appointment for a video consultation with the doctor.

Following medical consultation with a doctor, which takes around 10 minutes, you may be approved to receive one of the vaccines.

During the consultation, you will be given the opportunity to ask any questions you might have about the vaccines and will be given information, including about potential side effects and whether you might be in a higher risk group for them.

Doctors can also give you an idea of how long you will have to wait to be vaccinated under Denmark’s national vaccination programme, and can tell you the relative effectiveness of the different vaccines based on the results of international studies.

If approved, you will be sent an appointment by email immediately following the consultation, but can choose to change the time if you are unable to attend the one you are sent.

The doctor who conducts your consultation can choose not to allow you to proceed with vaccination and instead recommend you wait to be invited for vaccination under the national programme.

READ ALSO:

Twenty employees of engineering firm Lowenco, together with their boss Mikael Hoier, on May 23rd became the first people to be given the Johnson & Johnson vaccine under the elective scheme.

Practio’s vaccination centre is located at DGI Byen, close to the Central Station in Copenhagen, but the company plans to also open vaccination centres in Roskilde, Odense, Aarhus and Aalborg. 

People who receive vaccinations under the scheme do not lost their right to claim compensation should they experience side effects.

“Patients and doctors should know that (Denmark’s patient compensation board, Patienterstatningen) covers all serious side effects from approved vaccines. That includes the Covid-19 vaccines from AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson, even though they have been withdrawn from the vaccination programme,” the compensation board’s director Karen-Inger Bast last week told newspaper Politiken.

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also