On Friday, Health and Care Minister Ingvild Kjerkol gave the go-ahead to the municipalities: Everyone between the ages of 18 and 64 will be offered a booster dose of the corona vaccine. – Vaccination is still central to dealing with the corona pandemic, Kjerkol wrote in a press release. Nevertheless, neither the government nor the Institute of Public Health will issue a general recommendation. Thus, it is up to each individual to decide whether they should take the vaccine or not. So should one really take a refresher dose? Saying no to vaccine Infection control supervisor Einar Sagberg in Drammen understands that the message from the government and FHI can seem confusing. – There are very few professional reasons to take a refresher dose for this age group, says Sagberg. Infection control specialist Einar Sagberg in Drammen. Photo: Azad Razaei / news – Why is the vaccine offered then? – The challenge is that we do not have a complete overview of how this wave will play out. We do not know enough whether a refresher dose will have an effect. In addition, there may be more people who want to travel abroad, who need the vaccine. The chief infectious disease specialist believes that those who are the oldest in this age group will benefit the most from a new dose Drammen municipality opens the vaccine offer for everyone over 18 this week. Sagberg does not expect a large turnout. – We have not taken into account that many people will contact us. – You are in this age group yourself. Are you going to take the vaccine? – No, I’m not going to do that. I have recently undergone a round of covid-19, but I would not take this booster dose anyway, says Sagberg. Should you take a booster dose of the vaccine this winter? Yes, I want to be on the safe side. No, not if it is not recommended for my age group Show result – Gives little benefit In the neighboring municipality of Lier, municipal chief physician Ingrid Bjerring sits ready to hand out new vaccine doses to those who want it. Nor does she think it will provide any particular health benefits for this age group. Municipal chief physician Ingrid Bjerring in Lier. Photo: Lier municipality – Especially the youngest should weigh possible side effects against the benefits of taking this dose, says Bjerring, who currently has no plans to take the vaccine himself. – I work clinically with patients, so I may take it for that reason. But not to protect my own health, says Bjerring. Nor in Oslo does the municipal doctor believe that there are particularly good reasons to make use of the vaccine offer. – As a healthy 42-year-old, I will not take it, but I understand that some will feel the need to get a refresher dose, says municipal doctor Miert Lindboe. FHI: Not recommended Despite the fact that the vaccine is now being made available, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health will not issue a recommendation for everyone to take it. Department director Are Stuwitz Berg in FHI. Photo: Torstein Bøe / NTB – We found no basis for recommending that this part of the population should take a new dose now. We also saw no reason to refuse those who still want it, since we have more than enough doses and this is an approved vaccine. However, they must know about both advantages and disadvantages, and there is more reason for the oldest than for the youngest in this group to consider this, says department director Are Stuwitz Berg at FHI. – Any vaccine entails a risk of side effects. Is it then justifiable to offer this, when you know that the individual health benefit of the refresher dose is probably small? – This is one of the reasons why we have not said that everyone should take a new dose, but that the individual can consider this. As said, one must be aware of the risk of side effects. A few may experience more troublesome and serious side effects, but the vast majority of side effects are transient and go away on their own within a few days, says Stuwitz Berg.
ttn-69
Municipal doctors: – Will not take a new vaccine dose myself
