On the advice of the National Institute of Public Health, the government decided to shorten the interval between the first and second doses of the Covid-19 vaccine from 12 to 9 weeks. At the end of April, it was decided to extend the interval between the first and second doses of mRNA vaccines (Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna) to 12 weeks for people under 65 without underlying diseases. The reason for this was to provide as many people as possible with the first dose of the vaccine as soon as possible.
The vaccination is now so fast that we can already shorten the interval
- We have very good access to vaccines in the future. The vaccination is now so fast that we can already shorten the interval. With today's estimated deliveries, FHI believes we can achieve the desired effect to get the first dose as soon as possible. Therefore, we set the interval to 9 weeks instead of 12 weeks. This adjustment can be changed if there are changes in the supply of vaccines, says Minister of Health and Welfare Bent Høie.
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Shortening the interval between the first and second dose of vaccine. We ask municipalities to change the hours for those who received the first dose
A six-week interval is still recommended for people over the age of 65 and those with underlying medical conditions.
- The dose change from 12 to 9 weeks is made immediately. Therefore, we are asking municipalities to change the hours for those who received the first dose retroactively from week 20, if this is practically possible, says Høie.
The change does not mean that some municipalities will have to administer more doses. The change will also not affect the vaccination rate in municipalities that deliver doses due to geographic redistribution. FHI is working to provide municipalities with an overview of summer vaccine supplies soon.
