– The flu vaccination is urgent now. This is what the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (FHI) wrote in the weekly report that came out on Thursday. The season for fever, aches and sick leave comes earlier than before. In several counties, the outbreak is already underway. But in one of the counties that has been hit particularly hard, Møre and Romsdal, several places have almost no vaccines left. – No, I’m guessing 5–6, says Kristoffer Nygård. He is a pharmacist and pharmacist at a pharmacy in Ålesund. He says that there has been significantly greater pressure on vaccination this year than last year, and that it shows in the immediately empty shelves. – Isn’t there a danger that people who absolutely should have the vaccine don’t get it? – There is certainly a danger of that, but I think that those in the risk group have their own responsibility to take the vaccine earlier and not wait until the end, he says. Around 185,000 Norwegians have received such vaccines at pharmacies so far this season, which is only just getting started. In the whole of last year, 150,000 vaccines were given at the pharmacy. Photo: Hans-Olav Landsverk / news Three epidemics feared for Christmas Both covid-19, influenza and RSV infections are currently on the rise, and FHI reports that it is possible that all three will be significantly greater around Christmas. “The total burden on the health service can be large”, they write in the weekly report. The flu, which is already here, they fear will have consequences for children in the risk groups, as a very small proportion of these are vaccinated. “There is also still far too little coverage among healthcare personnel, the elderly and other risk groups,” the report states. The flu season is scheduled to start around Christmas, but not take off until after the New Year. This year it is different. Photo: Josef Benoni Ness Tveit / news Fewer vaccinated in total Pharmacies actually account for a small part of the total vaccination, as much takes place in doctor’s offices and under the auspices of the municipalities. At least 1.16 million Norwegians have taken the flu vaccine this season. At the same time last year, it was 1.2 million. This is according to Kjersti Rydland, who heads the Institute of Public Health’s flu vaccination programme. – We are lagging behind last year. Then the vaccine was free, and we notice that. Kjersti Rydland is senior adviser at FHI. Photo: FHI – Do you think that having to pay for yourself this year may have contributed to the lower vaccination rate? – Yes, I’m sure of that, says Rydland. There is free pricing for setting vaccines. Some municipalities charge around NOK 150, while some pharmacies can charge up to NOK 400 for a vaccine. Also Are Stuwitz Berg, director of the Department for Infection Control and Vaccines at FHI, thinks the case would have been different if the government had sped up the vaccines, as they did last year. – Everything we have of knowledge says that the lowest possible price, and preferably completely free, increases demand. Says there will be no vaccine shortage Never before have so many people taken the flu vaccine at the pharmacy. This is reported by Apotek1, the largest pharmacy chain in the country. The other two big ones, which together with Apotek1 control close to 90 percent of the market, Boots and Vitusapotek, say the same. – We are now seeing historic figures, writes press manager at Apotek1 Silje Ensrud, to news. Altogether, the pharmacy has so far administered around 180,000 vaccines compared to 150,000 in the entire flu season last year. But the vaccine shortage at the pharmacy in Ålesund they promise will not happen everywhere. Are Stuwitz Berg believes that vaccination at the pharmacy is a good offer, but reminds that it is the municipalities that are responsible for vaccinating residents in the risk groups. Photo: Torstein Bøe All the companies say that they still have vaccines in stock and that they are continuously ordering more. That some individual pharmacies are empty of vaccines, says Berg in FHI that one should not be alarmed: – It is the municipalities that are responsible for vaccinating their risk groups, i.e. the elderly and the younger with underlying risk conditions, plus health personnel. There are more than enough vaccines in Norway to vaccinate these, says Berg.
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It is urgent to vaccinate against influenza, says FHI, but several places are immediately empty – news Møre og Romsdal – Local news, TV and radio
