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The government follows the advice of NIPH and prioritizes risk groups before health personnel.
– We will give priority to people in nursing homes early in the vaccination process, Health Minister Bent Høie said during today’s press conference.
Therefore, they have chosen not to give priority to health personnel. At the same time, he notes that the order can be changed if the infection increases and when we know more about how the vaccine will work. For example, priority will be given to healthcare professionals if there is increased infection pressure (see the table below).
There are groups at higher risk of a severe course and death from a corona vaccine is recommended, when one is approved and reaches Norway.
The risk groups here are all over the age of 65, as well as residents in nursing homes and nursing homes. Also, there are people aged 18 to 64 with one or more underlying diseases.
Now it is not necessary for each individual to communicate with their GP about the vaccine. Those who are prioritized first will be contacted, says the Minister of Health. There will be information if it is relevant to change this.
Therefore, there are groups with a higher risk of hospitalization and / or death.
– The risk increases significantly after the age of 65, says FHI.
Who within this risk group of 1.3 million should be prioritized first, FHI notes that they don’t have a sufficient knowledge base to say anything.
What about ordinary adults?
FHI notes that it is too early to say whether a vaccine can be recommended to other parts of the population. That is, if others should also be included in the national vaccination program.
The reason is that we do not know which vaccine will actually be approved and how it will work. If we get a vaccine with a high side effect profile that protects little against infection, it is not certain that 20-year-olds should take it, for example.
– When more information is known about the properties and safety of vaccines, it may be relevant to include larger groups of the population, for whom the vaccine is approved. It’s too early to say whether a general vaccination recommendation is relevant, writes FHI in its professional justification.
– One possibility could be to include a higher proportion of the oldest part of the population in the national vaccination program, for example from the age of 50, since the risk of a severe course of covid-19 increases with age, they write.
Prioritization within risk groups:
- Prioritize the oldest first until age 65
- Then, those under 65 with one or more
diseases / conditions as specified in 2.3.1 (possibly divided into 50-65 years and then 50-
18 years).
A more detailed order of priority will be created if the need arises and
when the knowledge of the properties of the vaccine is known, they write.
What about children and young people or pregnant women?
NIPH does not recommend that children and youth under the age of 18 be included in the vaccination program, regardless of the underlying disease.
– This is based on current knowledge about the disease and the very low risk of
course. Also, the vaccines are likely not approved for children and youth in the first instance. This likely applies to pregnant women as well, writes FHI.
What about health workers?
The NIPH believes it is too early to say whether health care workers should also be included in the vaccination program.
– Health personnel and other employees of the health and care service who have close contact with patients during treatment or care are also relevant for inclusion in a national vaccination program, but depend on knowledge of the safety and effect of the approved individual vaccine and the state of the infection situation in the country at the time of approval. writes FHI.
If we are in a situation of generalized contagion, health workers can go to the top of the priority list, they point out:
What about us in areas without infection?
The NIPH believes it is too early to conclude whether some parts of the country should receive the vaccine earlier than others. They point out that it will depend on the contagion situation.
We still do not know what the infection situation will be when a vaccine arrives.
However, they note that consideration should be given to whether densely populated areas should be prioritized for vaccination. The elderly and risk groups will have a higher risk of becoming infected, having a severe course and dying in areas with higher infection pressure, writes FHI in its advice to the government.
What about other people who may be at higher risk?
Therefore, FHI has listed which groups with underlying diseases they believe should be included in vaccination. But what about you that may be at higher risk but is not on this list?
– Currently, the inclusion in the national vaccination program of other groups that may be at increased risk of a serious course or infection is not recommended,
but it will follow a possible recommendation for vaccination of larger groups of the population or general vaccination, writes FHI.
When will we get the final answer?
It is not FHI who decides this, it is the government. This is FHI’s professional advice.
The government is expected to respond to a press conference at 11:30 am.
When do we receive a vaccine?
A total of four vaccines have been approved for the approval process, but the BioNTech and Pfizer vaccine has gone further. The approval decision must be made by December 29. If this happens, doses may reach Norway as early as January.
They probably won’t get enough to vaccinate everyone at once.
FHI has previously estimated that it may take two to three weeks from the time the doses are received in Norway, until the first group has been vaccinated in the municipalities.
Click on each vaccine to read more about them:
