The Evening Report - Aug 26
Denmark’s vaccination campaign continues to slow
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The Danish Medicines Agency is investigating whether a rare inflammatory condition occasionally seen as a side effect among children who have had COVID may also occur after vaccination. The agency says earlier this month a 17-year-old boy developed MIS-C, a condition in which the immune system reacts very violently and causes inflammation of the organs, after a Pfizer/BioNTech vaccination. The boy recovered after treatment.
Danish paediatricians estimate approximately one out of every 4,000 children infected with COVID suffer from MIS-C. But the Danish Medicines Agency says the 17-year-old in question hasn’t had COVID, which is why it suspects it might be a rare side effect of the vaccination.
Pharmacovigilance Unit Head Line Michan says the European Medicines Agency has been notified and is also now investigating.
“As a citizen, you should not be worried, but from the Danish Medicines Agency's perspective, we take the report seriously, and in line with our established procedures, we have raised the matter with the EMA. It is too early to say whether the case of MIS-C is due to the vaccine, but it can not be ruled out either. That is why we are investigating the matter further with our European partners.”
Symptoms of MIS-C can include a high fever, diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain, headache, fatigue, chest pain, and difficulty breathing. The agency has also notified doctors across Denmark to keep an eye out.
Out of the over four-million people who are fully vaccinated in Denmark, there are more than 300,000 in the 12 to 17 year old age group.
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If efforts so far are any indication, Denmark’s vaccination campaign is going to end the opposite of how it began. Instead of the thousands of inoculations and people lining up each day, it’ll be a lot more work with far fewer daily numbers.
Denmark is changing its vaccination strategy to a smaller, more mobile operation, directly targeting young people and laggard areas. The regions are already out in areas where vaccination numbers are lower than they should be. Region Sjælland was in Kalundborg yesterday with a pop-up vaccination site and inoculated 50 people.
In Aarhus Kommune, 86 people were vaccinated at a pop-up clinic in Gellerup last week. The municipality has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country. So the kommune was back again today.
Vaccine Guide Hanan Yusuf spoke to DR and said people who are hesitant seem to be nervous about side effects and have bought in to some misinformation.
“Some have read that one faints after being vaccinated. Some people hear that you can die after two years. And more young girls are afraid it could impact having children.”
In Region Hovedstaden, pop-up vaccination clinics will be at schools, education institutions, mosques, and other community areas. Yesterday they were in Ishøj working to get people the jab.
You can find a full list of dates and locations HERE for future pop-up sites in Region Hovedstaden.
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Denmark is reporting 982 COVID infections and two more coronavirus deaths in the last day.
Yesterday there were 164,228 total corona tests done, 82,076 PCR and 82,152 rapid, for a (PCR only) positivity percentage of 1.19%.
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COVID hospitalizations (127) declined (-6) while the number of infected people in an ICU (19) also dropped slightly (-2) and of those the number on a ventilator (7) is unchanged day to day.
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On the vaccination front, numbers continue to drop, with 4,388,277 1st doses (74.9% of total population) administered to date and 4,109,403 people (70.2%) now fully vaccinated.
Yesterday there were just 23,503 total inoculations done, and of those a meager 4,855 were 1st doses.
Denmark’s Health Minister Magnus Heunicke says the country has hit a “great new vaccine milestone” today, with 80% of everyone 12 years old and older now having both vaccine doses.
Heunicke continues to encourage people who have not yet begun the vaccination process to get their shots. Denmark is trying to reach 90% vaccination coverage by October 1.
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Sweden has added 1,511 infections and another eight corona deaths since yesterday’s update.
COVID vaccinations so far:
Adult population (18yo+) - 6,661,982 1st vaccine doses (81.3%) and 5,435,697 2nd doses (66.4%) administered.
16-17 year olds - 172,254 1st vaccine doses (49%) and 11,772 2nd doses (3.3%) done.
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In the Thursday COVID update press conference today, officials said coronavirus-related hospital admissions are increasing rapidly. The message was for people to get vaccinated as soon as possible. Sweden has some fairly large numbers of people under the age of 50 who have yet to get their shots.
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Saying “the pandemic is not over and the situation is still uncertain and rapidly changing” the Swedish government has extended an entry ban into Sweden until October 31. It has also extended its recommendation against travel outside of Sweden until at least October 15.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says “a great responsibility rests on the individual traveler” even in going to countries Sweden allows travel too. It advises anyone heading abroad to do their homework about their country of destination, follow local rules, and plan the trip home well in advance. Travelers should also take all steps to minimize COVID risk like keeping social distancing, wash their hands, and avoid crowded places.
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The latest analysis from the Swedish Public Health Agency shows that while the number of breakthrough infections has increased, they’re still a small portion of overall vaccinations. It also continues to find that being fully vaccinated provides a high level of protection against becoming seriously ill, being hospitalized, or dying from COVID.
In Sweden, 5,435,697 people are fully vaccinated and of those 5,274 breakthrough infections (0.09%) have been reported. But there are concerning signs with the advent of the Delta variant. The health agency says in May breakthrough infections accounted for 1% of all infections that month. Fast forward to August, with the Delta variant now dominant, and in the first two weeks of the month 11% of all cases were among people who were fully vaccinated.
The national health authority says only a very small number of people who are fully vaccinated become so sick they end up in an ICU. It’s recorded just 21 (0.0003%) such cases to date. Of those, the media age of the person was 75.
It says the evidence is clear that even with the Delta variant, being vaccinated offers a very high level of protection.
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The Swedish Public Health Agency will launch a booster shot campaign on September 1 but only for a very specific and vulnerable group. The agency says the third vaccine doses will go to people who have compromised immune systems, either due to an underlying health condition or from treatment of a disease. But the third shots will only for those 18 years old and older. The health agency estimates there are about 40,000 in this target group.
State Epidemiologist Anders Tegnell:
“An extra dose of vaccine could strengthen the protection of many with severely weakened immune systems. The assessments of treating physicians will be important in administering the booster shot campaign. We also want to point out how important it is that everyone continues to keep their distance, stay at home if they are ill, and get tested.”
The public health agency says people with compromised immune systems often have a poorer antibody response after two vaccine doses than a healthy person does. So a third shot could increase their protection against COVID.
The health authority says while the booster shot campaign is highly focused and not currently offered to anyone under the age of 18, it could lower the age limit “as knowledge develops.”
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Norway recorded record high infection numbers yesterday. While it’s added 1,889 infections since yesterday’s update, by date of positive test there were 1,295 infections yesterday, the highest daily number to date.
There have been no new corona deaths.
Hospitalizations (65) are up (+9) ICU numbers (15) are unchanged, and ventilator numbers (8) are up (+1)
To date, 70.92% of Norwegians have had one vaccine dose and 51.84% have had both doses.
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There are some serious concerns about COVID testing capacity in some parts of Norway. Dagbladet is reporting that among them is Bergen, which is struggling with a serious increase of infections but a faltering testing regime that is “in danger of collapsing.” The situation is so bad the municipality has been forced to stop testing entirely. The issue seems to be a “lack of equipment.”
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Finland has registered 650 infections and four more deaths since yesterday’s update.
COVID hospitalizations (98) are down (-3).
To date, 3,978,792 1st doses (71.1% of the population) have been administered and 2,662,302 people (47.7%) are now fully vaccinated.
About 44% of those 12 to 15 years old have at least one dose. More than 80% of those over 40 also have at least one shot. The vaccination rate for 16 to 39 year olds is a bit lower, around 69 to 75%.
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The number of COVID infections is now declining in Finland after its latest Delta variant-driven infection wave drove record-high infection numbers. Last week, total infections were 800 fewer than the week before, according to the latest weekly assessment from the Finnish Institute for Health. It says the number of coronavirus cases has decreased across all age groups except for children under the age of 10, where infections have increased 14% week over week. The other group of concern is anyone who is not vaccinated, where the Delta variant is spreading like wildfire.
The Finnish health agency says 6% of all infections last week were travel-related.
The FIH says there is a strain on primary care in Finland, but it has less to do with any influx of COVID patients and more to do with staffing shortages and dealing with a backlog of procedures due to the pandemic. It says on the COVID front the healthcare situation remains stable, but “the majority of those in need of hospital care are unvaccinated.”
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Germany has now administered over 100-million total vaccinations. Health Minister Jens Spahn says 73% of everyone over the age of 12 in Germany has had at least one vaccine dose. Spahn adds that overall 53.7-million people (64.6%) have one dose and 49.66-million people (59.7%) have had both doses.
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The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has updated its COVID risk assessment map of the EU. Of note, all of Sweden is now high-risk red as is about half of Denmark.
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In the United Kingdom there were 38,281 new infections reported today along with another 140 deaths.
In its weekly surveillance report, Public Health England says it is seeing the highest number of infections among those aged 10 to 19 years old. On the other end of the spectrum, the fewest cases are among those 80 years old and older.
It says COVID activity is highest in the South West and lowest in London.
Hospitalizations have also increased among those 85 years and older.
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Courtesy of Our World in Data here is a glimpse at how a number of countries around the world stack up in administering first and second vaccine doses.
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Canada reported 3,333 new COVID infections and six more virus deaths yesterday. Almost one-third of all new infections yesterday were in Alberta.
So far, the Canadian vaccination effort has administered 27,717,915 1st vaccine doses (72.80% of the total population) while 25,014,456 people (65.70%) are fully vaccinated.
Today in Ontario there were 678 new infections and no new deaths. 537 of the new cases were among people who were not vaccinated or who had a one vaccine dose; the other 141 are people who are fully vaccinated. There are 302 people hospitalized, the highest number since June, of which 271 are not vaccinated or have a single dose. Among another 165 people in an ICU, almost all of them, 155, are not vaccinated or have just one dose.
Quebec reported 603 new COVID cases and one more death. 119 people are in hospital, including 36 in an ICU.
In Atlantic Canada, New Brunswick logged eight new cases. Newfoundland and Labrador had two. Nova Scotia reported one new case.
Manitoba saw 56 new infections today.
There were 216 infections and no new deaths in Saskatchewan yesterday. That’s the highest number of corona cases in the province since mid-May.
Alberta logged a whopping 1,076 new infections along with one more fatality. There are 225 people in a hospital and of those 225 are either unvaccinated or have one dose. There’s another 59 people in an ICU and of those 98.3% are unvaccinated or do not yet have both doses.
BC. registered 698 infections and another corona death yesterday. Hospitalizations have increased to 139 while ICU cases have dipped slightly to 75. Since the province announced a COVID passport system restricting access to certain areas and events to those who are vaccinated, the number of first doses administered everyday has more than doubled.