Norwegian health institute: Only a small proportion of Norwegians will receive the corona vaccine in Q1 of 2021

During the first three months of the year, only a small proportion of the Norwegian population will receive the corona vaccine, according to the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (FHI).

According to Geir Bukholm at the FHI, all but one of the country’s municipalities are now in the process of vaccinating. 

Since Tuesday, the number of vaccinated people in Norway has increased from just over 4,000 to over 11,000, Bukholm stated.

Today, seven out of ten Norwegians say they want to take the vaccine. 

The support is greater the older people are, and more men than women are positive about the vaccine, surveys show.

Uncertain delivery

Currently, the FHI expects to receive around 6 million doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines during 2021. 

But there is great uncertainty regarding the delivery rate, according to Bukholm.

“We never quite know what it will be like,” he said. Currently, Norway receives around 40,000 vaccines a week.

Norway also has an agreement to receive 3.3 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine when it is approved.

All vaccines are two-dose vaccines, meaning that with these three vaccines, around 4.5 million Norwegians can be vaccinated during the year.

How do the vaccines work?

“However, little is still known about how the vaccines work,” Norwegian Medicines Agency director Audun Hågå noted.

“We have not yet received good answers as to whether this vaccine (Moderna’s vaccine, editor’s note) prevents the spread of infection, and we do not yet know how long the effect lasts. We will find out eventually,” he said.

“We also do not know enough how the vaccine works on the elderly, pregnant women, children, and those with a weakened immune system, Hågå added.

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews