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In almost a month, the first step in vaccinating Sweden against the coronavirus will begin. Includes vaccination of people over 70 years of age, as well as care and nursing staff.
Based on Statistics from Sweden, the Swedish Public Health Agency has calculated that 2,640,000 people are included in this priority group. But even within it, it is planned who will get the vaccine first.
Age is the greatest risk factor for death in covid-19. There’s a big difference between a vivacious 70-year-old compared to a frail 90-year-old, says Anette Richardson, head of the emergency preparedness and crisis management unit in the Swedish Agency’s department of infection and health protection. of Public Health.
– The combination of being older and having risk factors makes you a priority. But we cannot vaccinate the elderly if it is not good for them, it is also related to the vaccine, he says.
Healthcare workers who work closely with people at risk for severe COVID-19 are also a group to be prioritized, according to the regions’ epidemic plans.
Has prepared
According to national coordinator Richard Bergström, the vaccine will be delivered in multi-dose containers containing vials with typically 5-10 doses per vial. The regions themselves should provide needles, syringes and other items needed during vaccination.
Here, the regions have already come a long way and acquired volumes, says Emma Spak, Head of Health and Medical Care for Sweden’s Municipalities and Regions (SKR). For example, the Stockholm Region has so far placed orders for syringes and needles for 1,125,000 doses. Work is also being done to ensure access to other equipment.
– The regions have made forecasts on the amount of disposable equipment that is needed and made joint purchases. That question has been worked out together quite early, says Emma Spak.
You can vaccinate at home
Many regions describe this year’s flu vaccination as a blanket rehearsal of things to come in 2021. The Swedish Public Health Agency also believes that existing fluxes used during flu season can be harnessed during covid-19 vaccination.
In the epidemic contingency plan for the Västra Götaland region, facilities such as health centers, hospitals, child and maternity care centers, schools, vaccination clinics and occupational health care are highlighted as possible alternatives.
There is also the opportunity to vaccinate people in their homes, said the director general of the Public Health Agency, Johan Carlson on Nov. 24.
Rented campus Östersund
Anette Richardson worked with vaccination in relation to the swine flu pandemic in 2009 and notes that some things will be different now compared to then.
– So they lined up and we don’t want that, especially vulnerable groups, because then they can get sick if they are close to each other.
Some regions are preparing larger external facilities for vaccination, including the Jämtland Härjedalen Region, which rented the Östersund Campus during influenza vaccination, reports Dagens Medicin.
In the Örebro region, vaccines, according to vaccine coordinator Inger Nordin-Olsson, will start in more spacious rooms with an appointment to avoid the risk of infection in the waiting room.
At the same time, research is being done on how the cold chain should be managed for vaccines that require extremely low temperatures.
– The regions are analyzing all the possibilities in parallel now, if it is going to put the vaccination in hospitals where the freezers are at minus 70 degrees, if it is going to use regular actors, if it is going to vaccinate at home? Twist and twist this, says Emma Spak on SKR.
