Denmark pauses COVID-19 vaccine drive for the season, citing high vaccination rates

The Danish government announced this week it will be pausing its national COVID-19 vaccine drive until further notice, citing high vaccination rates in the country and low infection numbers.

In a press release on Tuesday from the Danish Health Authority, national vaccination rates are “sky-high, and the epidemic has reversed. Therefore, the Danish Health and Medicines Authority is now ending the broad vaccination effort against COVID-19 for this season.”

“Spring has come and we have good control of the epidemic, which seems to be waning. The hospitalization numbers are stable, and we also expect them to decline soon. That is why we are rounding out the mass vaccination programme against COVID-19,” writes Bolette Søborg, Head of Unit at the Danish Health Authority. 

The agency plans to restart the vaccine drive in the fall, when COVID rates are expected to rise. However, the government still recommends vaccinations for particularly vulnerable populations. “This is especially true for people over the age of 40 and for pregnant women … We also continue to recommend that you complete your vaccination course,” Søborg said.

“We plan to reopen the vaccination program in the fall,” Søborg said. “Prior to this, a thorough professional assessment must be made of who and when to vaccinate and with which vaccines. We expect to present a plan for the overall framework for the 2022/23 season before the summer holidays.”

Denmark is the first country to suspend its COVID-19 vaccine efforts. Dr. Anthony Fauci said this week the United States is likely at the point where the pandemic phase of COVID-19 is over, but the virus still caused 376 deaths in the last 7 days in the US.