A total of 33,564 employees in schools and kindergartens will not receive a booster dose in January, even though the government believes they should be given priority.
According to the newspaper VG, they have to wait because 20 weeks haven’t passed since they received their second dose.
“This is a consequence of the Solberg government, which in practice did not prioritize teachers in the vaccination queue. That was not smart. It means more quarantine and greater insecurity among those who still have to wait for many weeks for the third dose,” Steffen Handal, the leader of the Union of Education Norway, told the newspaper.
According to the government, 65% of the employees in schools and kindergartens have either received a booster dose or will be vaccinated by week 3.
Growing frustration
On the other hand, a lot of people have to wait longer, figures from the National Institute of Public Health (FHI) show.
A total of 33,564 employees in schools and kindergartens will not be able to get booster doses this January. They will have to wait until week 5, which is in February, or longer. That amounts to 13.6% (in this group, 28,798 are under 45 years of age).
Minister of Education Tonje Brenna (AP) says she understands the frustration.
“The 20-week interval between dose two and three is recommended by the FHI. For some, this, unfortunately, means that they will get the third dose in February,” she wrote.
Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews
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