COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – Danes with weak immune systems such as cancer patients receiving chemotherapy, or those with organ transplants, will soon be recommended to get a COVID-19 vaccine booster, the Danish Health Authority said on Friday.
The Danish decision echoes those of countries like Israel, Germany and France https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-booster-factbox/factbox-countries-weigh-need-for-booster-covid-19-shots-idUKKBN2FK12K who have also decided to offer booster shots to older adults and people with weak immune systems, though European Union officials have said they do not yet see a need to give booster shots to the general population.
Guidelines for revaccinating people with weakened immune systems will be published next week, said the Danish Health Authority, adding that knowledge in the field is still very limited at this point in time.
“However, it does suggest that certain individuals with significant immunodeficiency need a third injection … to prevent a serious case of disease if they get infected with COVID-19, even though they have been fully vaccinated,” it said.
If data show a need to give booster shots to other groups, such as elderly people in nursing homes, it would not hesitate to recommend this, it added.
In the United States, COVID-19 vaccine booster shots will be made widely available starting on Sept. 20, U.S. health officials have said, citing data showing diminishing protection from the initial vaccinations as infections with the Delta variant rise.
(Reporting by Stine Jacobsen; Editing by David Holmes)
