OSLO (The online newspaper): We are slowly but surely approaching what “everyone” is waiting for; the coronary vaccine.
If we are lucky, the vaccine is here just after we have toasted ourselves into a new year, could Minister of Health Bent Høie (H) told Thursday.
Nettavisen follows up with health director Bjørn Guldvog in the Norwegian Directorate of Health.
See the interview with Bjørn Guldvog at the top of the case!
– Promising vaccine
– Guldvog, where is it likely that the corona vaccine to Norway comes from?
– It is not entirely unlikely that it is a European vaccine that can be developed. One of the promising ones is the Oxford vaccine in the UK, which AstraZeneca is behind, but there are also other options that may be relevant for Europe and Norway.
– Høie indicated that the vaccine may come here in January. What will happen after that?
– Then the vaccination starts, in priority group: It is those who have the highest risk of getting serious illness, as well as health personnel who are in the front line, he says.
30 to 40 percent – first half year
– When will most people be able to get the vaccine?
– During 2021, we believe. At best, we may be able to vaccinate 30 to 40 percent of the population during the first six months. Then we will see how much access there is to the vaccine for the rest of the year and whether we have to use 2022.
– It is very likely that we will have to spend part of 2022, he adds.
He emphasizes that 30-40 percent vaccination is “at best”.
– There are many reefs in the sea here, so it is not certain that it will work, but it may be possible, given that everything works, says the health director.
– Learned from the swine flu vaccine
– How well tested can we expect the new vaccine to be?
– I believe that those who are now developing these vaccines, which are major global players, have an extreme awareness of safety. The industry suffered a setback in 2009 with the vaccine against swine flu, where the side effects exceeded expectations.
Guldvog says it is absolutely crucial to have better control this time.
– So it should not be associated with much risk to be a test rabbit?
– No, I do not hope so! But it is always posterity who has the upper hand, but I know that this is taken very seriously.
See the entire interview with Bjørn Guldvog at the top of the case!
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