Infection control professor believes the young and healthy should consider taking the corona vaccine – news Buskerud – Local news, TV and radio

– Already during the summer of this year, infections with the coronavirus have increased. I expect a further increase beyond the autumn. Therefore, everyone should consider whether there is a need for a refresher dose, says Jörn Klein. It is contrary to the calls to the health authorities. The Institute of Public Health believes that only those who are older than 65, and those who belong to a risk group, need to take the vaccine in the autumn. Jörn Klein is professor of microbiology and infection control at the University of Southeast Norway. Photo: University of Southeast Norway – FHI’s calls are not the final answer to who should receive the booster vaccine. Young and healthy people should also consider taking the corona vaccine. I think it is completely legitimate that they want to protect themselves, says Klein. He is one of very few infection control professors in Norway, and has also previously been critical of how FHI has handled the pandemic. Klein points out that the American CDC recommends vaccination for everyone over six months of age. – Protects against “long covid” Klein also fears that many young people may be affected by “long covid”. He refers to a study which found that 23 per cent of the children who were followed up three months after they were infected still had signs of illness. Even after two years, 7 percent of the children were plagued by various symptoms. – The pandemic is therefore not only creating chronically ill adults, but also chronically ill children. We still don’t know exactly how many people it actually is, says Klein. The professor also refers to another study which shows that the vaccine also gives children and young people some protection against “lung covid”. – As time passes after the last vaccination, this protection also decreases. Refresher doses are therefore necessary, says Klein. Fear of “virus winter” The Norwegian Institute of Public Health recently reported that respiratory infections in the population are increasing. More and more people are being diagnosed with the disease mycoplasma, and the incidence of whooping cough has been stably high since May. But this can only be the beginning. It is expected that the corona infection will rise sharply in the coming months. At the same time, the seasonal flu threatens to make its annual “comeback” in December. – All in all, there are many indications that this winter may be tougher than usual, especially if the number of infections for several diseases rises at the same time. A parallel wave of mycoplasma, whooping cough, influenza and coronavirus could create a challenging situation, especially for the healthcare system, believes Klein. Virus winter ahead: Several illnesses threaten to make the next few months unpleasant for thousands of Norwegians. Photo: Adobe Stock FHI: – No call to vaccinate – #mRNAvaccines can cause rare but more serious side effects, especially in younger people. We do not have a general call for a vaccine for all adults, says Acting Infection Control Director at FHI, Are Stuwitz Berg. He emphasizes that this does not mean that FHI recommends that others should not get vaccinated. – Our appeal applies to those with the highest risk of serious illness, who are the oldest and some younger people with underlying illnesses. However, we do not encourage people to get vaccinated if they want to, says Berg. He adds that there is a difference from municipality to municipality, the extent to which they offer corona vaccine to those outside the recommended groups. According to Berg, late effects of covid-19 are also assessed when FHI prepares its vaccine appeals. Acting infection control director at FHI, Are Stuwitz Berg. Photo: Torstein Bøe / news New corona variant threatens FHI expects an increase in infections with both corona and influenza this winter, together with other respiratory infections. A new corona variant, which has been named XEC, has become valid in several European countries. This will probably be the virus variant that creates this year’s winter wave. Right now it is the so-called KP. 3.1.1. which dominates in Norway. – The incidence of XEC in northern European countries is increasing. It has not yet been seen to a small extent in Norway, and it is likely that XEC will continue to increase and take over for the current KP. 3.1.1, says Berg. The vaccine that is now being rolled out to the municipalities is based on a variant that dominated several months ago. According to Berg, the European Medicines Agency has recently approved a vaccine based on a newer variant. – Both of these vaccines will provide increased and equal protection against the variants that are currently circulating. It is likely that they will also protect against serious illness if XEC comes to dominate, says Berg. Published 05.10.2024, at 21.07



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