Sweden recommends the fourth dose of covid vaccine to the elderly
STOCKHOLM (AP) – Sweden recommends a fourth covid-19 vaccine dose to people over the age of 80 and those who live in nursing homes or receive home care, the authorities said on Monday, adding that it must be given no earlier than four months after the previous shot.
The chief epidemiologist of the Scandinavian country, Anders Tegnell, says in a statement from the Swedish Public Health Agency that a fourth dose “strengthens the protection” against serious illness.
During most of the pandemic, Sweden has stood out among European nations for its comparatively practical response. It never went into lockdown or closed companies, and relied largely instead on individual responsibility for controlling infections. Although coronavirus deaths were high compared to other Nordic countries, they were lower than many other places in Europe that carried out shutdowns.
Earlier this month in neighboring Denmark, health authorities there said they were considering “phasing out” the country’s coronavirus vaccination program in the spring and saw no reason to give a booster dose to children or a fourth shot to longer residents at risk of severe covid. -19.
The reasoning for the Danish health authority was that the third wave of infection in Denmark was slowing down due to the population’s significant levels of natural immunity and vaccination. In January, the Danish government said it was offering a fourth dose of vaccine to older adults and other vulnerable citizens because they were concerned about the rapid spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus. But omicron is milder compared to previous variants and there has been no strain on healthcare systems.
Last week, Sweden stopped extensive tests for covid-19 even among people who show symptoms of an infection.
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