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Five million Swedes can be vaccinated by the summer, according to Sweden’s vaccination coordinator, who believes in a vaccine after the New Year’s weekend. But first, Sweden’s 21 regions must implement logistics.
Uncertainty over vaccine deliveries worries regions. Stock Photography.
Already on Tuesday, the United Kingdom will start its vaccine program against covid-19. The EU Commission is a few weeks late, says Sweden’s vaccine coordinator Richard Bergström.
– We hope to get an approval already before New Years, so we can start driving after the weekends, he says.
If all goes well, Sweden will have enough vaccines to vaccinate two million people during the first quarter of next year, according to the forecast from the Swedish Public Health Agency.
After that, deliveries are expected to increase and continue at a higher rate, according to Bergström.
– During April, May and June, two more vaccines are expected to be added. So I think it is realistic that we have vaccinated up to five million people before the summer.
If all the vaccines that the EU has agreed to are also approved, Sweden will have vaccines for 30 million people. The surplus will be distributed to countries at risk of running out, in collaboration with, among others, WHO.
– We will have access to many more doses in the second trimester. It is therefore important that we are all prepared to vaccinate on a large scale in the first half of the year, says Bergström, who is responsible for the vaccine’s path to Sweden via the EU.
The Swedish Public Health Agency is responsible for ensuring that the vaccine reaches all 21 regions of the country. The regions are individually responsible for their own vaccination.
The uncertainty of exactly how many doses and when they will arrive is a huge logistical challenge for the regions, says Emma Spak, head of healthcare for Sweden’s municipalities and regions (SKR).
– The fact that Sweden receives 50,000, 500,000 or five million doses of vaccine per month plays an important role in how logistics should be organized. Regions need to work with this uncertainty factor in their planning, he says and continues:
– We suspect that the forecast will change a lot in the spring. It completely depends on which vaccines are approved and the ability of vaccine companies to administer them.
The reliability of producer deliveries became an issue during vaccination against swine flu just over ten years ago.
– It is one of the biggest challenges, if you do not receive the deliveries as expected. That you have staff and facilities, but then the vaccine doesn’t come, says Emma Spak.
As with testing, solutions for mass vaccination will look different in the 21 regions. For example, some regions are reviewing automated solutions to reduce the risk of infection.
Much like when testing was expanded and expanded this spring, the economic agreement between the region and the state is not yet in effect, even though vaccine deliveries are approaching.
– There is an ongoing dialogue and it is important to achieve such an agreement between the state and the regions before starting to vaccinate. We see division of responsibilities and finances ready as a success factor, says Emma Spak.
According to the strategy of the Swedish Public Health Agency, the first needle sticks should be carried out in nursing homes and in the home care service. It is followed by people in the risk group, those over 70 years of age, and health and nursing personnel. Only then is it time to vaccinate the great masses, which is expected to be the way out of the pandemic.
Vaccine coordinator Richard Bergström wants to make it clear that millions of doses are on their way to Sweden:
– We have received several positive clinical results in recent weeks. Now we see a light in the tunnel. That’s why it’s important not to rest on your laurels and wait to prepare, he says.
