The first vaccine doses have been delivered to a Christmas-quiet Sweden and will now be repackaged and delivered to all regions. Vaccination against covid-19 starts tomorrow Sunday.
The transport has gone according to plan and the first vaccine doses from Pfizer / Biontech are now with the Swedish Public Health Agency, ready for further transport to the regions. There, the vaccinations will start on Sunday, first out are residents and staff in elderly care.
-It feels good that we are now at this stage, and that we in Sweden can start offering protection against covid-19 in just a few hours. In the first stage, those who have the greatest need are now vaccinated, says Anders Tegnell, state epidemiologist at the Swedish Public Health Agency.
According to the Swedish Public Health Agency, the doses delivered on Saturday will be enough to vaccinate 4,900 people, as two doses per person are needed.
80,000 doses a week
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) gave the green light for Pfizers / Biontech’s vaccine as recently as Monday. After the weekend, deliveries in the order of 80,000 doses per week to Sweden await.
The first doses in Sweden must be offered to people who live in special housing for the elderly or people who have home care. It will also be offered to close household contacts to these people as well as to the staff.
The availability of vaccines then determines how quickly it can be offered to more people. The goal is to be able to offer vaccines to the entire adult population in Sweden during the first half of 2021.
Source: svt.se
