Denmark to offer booster jab for mixed Covid-19 vaccination
Residents of Denmark who are vaccinated against Covid-19 with a mixture of vaccinations from two different companies are to be offered a booster jab against the virus.
The decision was announced by the Danish Health Authority in a statement on Tuesday and follows the decision last week to also offer a booster to people fully vaccinated with Johnson & Johnson’s single dose vaccine.
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A significant number of people who work in the healthcare sector were during the spring given a first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine followed by a second dose of Pfizer or Moderna, following Denmark’s decision to remove the AstraZeneca jab from its mainstream vaccination programme.
The booster jab will enable people with mixed vaccinations to travel to countries which do not recognised a mixed course of vaccines as a completed vaccination course, according to the Danish Health Authority.
However, the country’s foreign ministry last week cast doubt as to whether all countries would recognise the fully vaccinated status of people who receive a booster jab of Pfizer or Moderna following Johnson & Johnson vaccination.
People who are cross vaccinated including a first dose from AstraZeneca do not require a booster from a medical perspective, according to the Danish Health Authority. That is because this form of vaccination is considered to still give strong protection against the coronavirus.
“Mixed-vaccinated people are particularly well protected with the two different vaccines they have received. We actually view mixed vaccination as being just as effective as vaccination with two mRNA [Pfizer or Moderna, ed.] vaccines,” the health authority’s head of department Bolette Søborg said in the statement.
“At the same time, we also have great understanding for them not being able to travel where they want to. Therefore, those who need it and wish to will be given the option,” Søborg added.
Mixed-vaccinated people with no plans to travel currently need not receive a booster jab at the current time, she also said.
The authority does not consider there to be “risk of serious side effects with a third jab when you have previously received one dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine and one dose of an mRNA vaccine,” Søborg said in the statement.
The UK government changed its much-criticised Covid border rules on Monday October 4th.
With that change, the UK government now accepts that people with mixed doses of two Covid-19 vaccines – such as Astra-Zeneca and Pfizer – will now be considered fully vaccinated.
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The decision was announced by the Danish Health Authority in a statement on Tuesday and follows the decision last week to also offer a booster to people fully vaccinated with Johnson & Johnson’s single dose vaccine.
READ ALSO:
- Denmark warns Johnson & Johnson vaccinated over potential border refusals after booster
- Denmark to offer Covid-19 booster jab to Johnson & Johnson vaccinated
A significant number of people who work in the healthcare sector were during the spring given a first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine followed by a second dose of Pfizer or Moderna, following Denmark’s decision to remove the AstraZeneca jab from its mainstream vaccination programme.
The booster jab will enable people with mixed vaccinations to travel to countries which do not recognised a mixed course of vaccines as a completed vaccination course, according to the Danish Health Authority.
However, the country’s foreign ministry last week cast doubt as to whether all countries would recognise the fully vaccinated status of people who receive a booster jab of Pfizer or Moderna following Johnson & Johnson vaccination.
People who are cross vaccinated including a first dose from AstraZeneca do not require a booster from a medical perspective, according to the Danish Health Authority. That is because this form of vaccination is considered to still give strong protection against the coronavirus.
“Mixed-vaccinated people are particularly well protected with the two different vaccines they have received. We actually view mixed vaccination as being just as effective as vaccination with two mRNA [Pfizer or Moderna, ed.] vaccines,” the health authority’s head of department Bolette Søborg said in the statement.
“At the same time, we also have great understanding for them not being able to travel where they want to. Therefore, those who need it and wish to will be given the option,” Søborg added.
Mixed-vaccinated people with no plans to travel currently need not receive a booster jab at the current time, she also said.
The authority does not consider there to be “risk of serious side effects with a third jab when you have previously received one dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine and one dose of an mRNA vaccine,” Søborg said in the statement.
The UK government changed its much-criticised Covid border rules on Monday October 4th.
With that change, the UK government now accepts that people with mixed doses of two Covid-19 vaccines – such as Astra-Zeneca and Pfizer – will now be considered fully vaccinated.
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