Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Forbes
Forbes
Business
Derek Saul, Forbes Staff

Denmark First In Europe To Offer 4th Covid Vaccine Dose

Topline

Denmark became the first country in Europe to unveil plans to offer a fourth dose of the Covid-19 vaccine Wednesday, as countries increasingly turn to an additional jab to combat a rise in coronavirus infections globally despite a lack of evidence for the effectiveness of the additional dose.

Denmark is the third nation to announce plans for a fourth Covid-19 vaccine dose. Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images

Key Facts

The country will roll out a fourth jab for its “most vulnerable citizens,” Magnus Heunicke, Denmark’s health minister, said Wednesday during a Danish-language press conference translated by Reuters

Chile and Israel are the only other nations to announce fourth shots, which have already begun to be administered to eligible populations in both countries.

Heunicke did not say which Danish citizens will be eligible for the fourth dose or when rollout for the jab will begin, according to Reuters.

Chief Critic

Marco Cavaleri, head of vaccine rollout at the European Union’s drug regulating agency, said Tuesday that the approval of a fourth vaccine dose does not “represent a sustainable long-term strategy.” Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, whose company manufactures the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine, expressed similar doubts about the approval of a fourth dose Monday, saying that a fourth dose is “something that needs to be tested.”

Key Background

Denmark reported 23,142 new Covid-19 cases Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins University data, more than 15 times more than the country’s reported new cases on December 12 as the highly transmissible omicron variant spreads in the country. There is little existing research on the fourth dose, but the preliminary results of an Israeli study found that antibodies increased by more than 500% in people a week after the shot was administered.

Section Title

Denmark to offer fourth coronavirus jab while easing restrictions (Reuters)

Chile Latest Country To Roll Out 4th Covid Vaccine Shots — But Pfizer CEO Still Unsure Whether They’re Necessary (Forbes)

Israel Approves Fourth Covid-19 Vaccine Dose (Forbes)

Will States Offer 4th Covid Vaccine Doses? West Virginia First To Ask CDC For Permission (Forbes)

Full coverage and live updates on the Coronavirus

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.