FHI chief physician Preben Aavitsland tells Dagbladet that they hear from several municipalities that there are some who postpone the hours they have received before Christmas, or during Christmas.
– We do not know the reasons, but it may be that people will travel away. We saw that effect during the joint holiday. It may also be that people do not want a day with a feeling of unwell in the middle of Christmas, says Aavitsland.
Settlement with the unvaccinated: – What’s the point?
– Unfortunate
So far, more than 1.3 million Norwegians have received a third dose. This is not enough to get control of the expected wave of omicron infection, FHI believes.
– It is unfortunate if people who can get better protection, postpone this until after the New Year. Then the omikron wave may already be over us. In January, it will be very busy at the vaccination centers and long queues at the drop-in, so our advice to everyone is to take the hour you get, says Aavitsland.
He says that many municipalities offer drop-in during Christmas.
– Those who have at least 20 weeks since the previous dose, can use the opportunity.
Stoltenberg: This will be crucial
Cancellations in Sveio
Earlier this week, the small Vestland municipality of Sveio had between 6-700 available vaccine doses to be set before Christmas, and during Christmas.
The municipality has only around 5,500 inhabitants.
Several of those who were offered the third vaccine dose are said to have said that they wanted to postpone their class until over the New Year, because they did not want side effects during the holidays.
The case was first reported by the newspaper West wind, then NRK.
– High demand
Municipal health and care manager in Sveio municipality, Ingunn Toft, tells Dagbladet that it has not been a very big problem.
– At one time we had between 6-700 available vaccine doses. There were many reasons for this. Some are away, others are working. A few of these were people who were worried about having side effects during the Christmas holidays, says Toft, and continues:
– Now we only have 250 available doses. There has been a lot of activity after people heard about this on the radio. There was some intention to go out with this, and it seems to have had an effect.
May risk «double infection»
– Crucial
FHI director Camilla Stoltenberg emphasizes the importance of vaccination when she meets the press in connection with the weekly report from FHI on Wednesday.
– It is crucial that people through Christmas go and get vaccinated, and follow the measures, even if the numbers flatten out through Christmas, as we expect. Omikron has not taken over yet. Remember, it is what happens in the weeks and months ahead that will be crucial.
New wave in January
In a new risk assessment, FHI writes that the spread of omicron may give a new wave of infection from January.
– We consider that the omikron variant will give a new wave of the epidemic from January because the variant has a greater dispersal ability. But it is uncertain how big the wave will be, and it will depend on the characteristics of the variant, the ability to spread and spread, the effect of vaccination, the effect of infection control measures and the effect of self-selected behavioral changes, says department director Line Vold.
–
