LDenmark announced on Wednesday January 12 that a fourth dose of the anti-Covid vaccine would be offered to the most vulnerable, while the country is hit by the wave of the Omicron variant. A lifting of certain restrictions, in favor of an epidemic under control, was also announced. “It’s a new chapter with the decision to offer a fourth dose to the most vulnerable citizens”, who received their third injection at the start of the recall campaign in the fall, said the Minister of Health, Magnus Heunicke , during a press conference.
Those affected – the immunocompromised, cancer patients or people with arthritis – will be contacted at the end of the week or early next week, health officials said. Thanks to the Nordic country’s “ambitious” immunization campaign, “we are once again in control of the epidemic,” Heunicke said.
The other measures
The minister also announced the reopening on Sunday of cultural institutions closed since December 19. Theaters, cinemas, concert halls will be able to reopen, but with a capacity of 500 people for all indoor events.
Bars and restaurants remain forced to close at 11 p.m., with a ban on serving alcohol between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. The validity of the health pass is reduced to five months after the second dose, against seven months previously. 79.6% of the population of the Scandinavian country is vaccinated. After the third dose, which 54.6% Danes received, the pass has no expiration date. More than a million cases of Covid-19 have been detected among the 5.8 million Danes since the start of the pandemic.
In early January, health authorities estimated that the Omicron variant constituted more than 90% of new cases. Globally, Israel and Chile have already started offering a fourth dose to certain groups of their population. In France, the question of this booster injection was considered Tuesday as “premature” by the Ministry of Health.
