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Covid-19: Denmark begins autumn vaccination programme

Ritzau/The Local
Ritzau/The Local - [email protected]
Covid-19: Denmark begins autumn vaccination programme
Medarbejdere klargør vaccinerne og saltvand i optrækkerrummet, da Region Hovedstaden vaccinerer i vaccinationscenteret i Øksnehallen i København, 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)

An increase in the number of Covid-19 cases has been registered in Denmark after three consecutive weeks in which infections trended downwards. The country began its autumn vaccination programme on Thursday.

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This week’s trend report from the national infectious disease control agency State Serum Institute (SSI) shows 5,428 new cases of Covid-19 were detected last week.

Two weeks ago, 4,948 new cases were registered. The test positivity rate was 12.7 percent and 13.8 percent respectively during the two weeks.

These numbers are still some way lower than infections at the beginning of August. 10,334 cases were detected in the first week of last month. The test positivity rate was 24.7 percent.

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Denmark currently only advises PCR tests for people at risk of serious illness with Covid-19.

Two age groups – 0-19 years and 30-39 years – still have declining infection rates despite the overall increase.

The number of people in hospital with Covid-19 also increased last week for the first time in three weeks.

The weekly report is released as Denmark launches its autumn vaccination programme against Covid-19.

From Thursday September 15th, care home residents and people aged 85 and over will be invited for a booster vaccine.

From October 1st, everyone aged 50 and over will be offered vaccination.

Other groups for which vaccination is recommended include those who are pregnant, work in the health and elderly care sectors, or are at heightened risk of serious illness.

These groups will not be automatically offered a booster: they will receive information from their workplaces or must contact health services independently to check eligibility and arrange a vaccination. This can be done via the vacciner.dk and Danish Health Authority (Sundhedsstyrelsen) websites.

The deputy director of the Danish Health Authority, Helene Bilsted Probst, said earlier this week that timely vaccination was important in reducing the likelihood of serious illness.

“So we need to get started so we can keep ahead of the virus,” she said.

READ ALSO: Covid-19: Denmark expects to bring updated jab into vaccination programme

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