Sweden offers booster shot to those above 18

COPENHAGEN: Sweden recommended on Wednesday that everyone between the ages of 18 and 65 should get a booster shot against Covid-19 six months after having received the second jab. Social affairs minister Lena Hallengren said about 7mn people in Sweden, which has a population of 10mn, have had both shots. But she expressed concern about the uptick in coronavirus infections.

“The government takes the spread of infection around the world seriously,” Hallengren said. “The purpose (of offering a third shot) is to be prepared for a possible deteriorating situation.”

The head of the European Union’s public health agency Andrea Ammon said on Wednesday that Covid-19 vaccine boosters should be considered for all adults, with priority for those above 40 years, in a major change to the agency’s guidance.

Recommendations issued by the European Centre for Disease prevention and Control (ECDC) are not binding on EU governments but are used to make health policy decisions.

A leader of Germany’s Greens, set to be part of a new government, expressed support on Wednesday for mandatory vaccinations as the number of infections jumped again.

Germany registered 66,884 new coronavirus infections and 335 more deaths due to the virus, bringing the total number of deaths close to 100,000, according to figures by the Robert-Koch-Institute of infectious diseases on Wednesday.

The Swiss will vote on Sunday on the country’s Covid-19 laws, after a campaign characterised by unprecedented levels of hostility in the wealthy Alpine nation, including even death threats.

New coronavirus infections in South Korea exceeded 4,000 in a day for the first time since the start of the pandemic as a delta-driven spread continues to rattle the country after it eased social distancing in recent weeks to improve its economy.

The country’s death toll is now 3,363 after 35 patients died in the past 24 hours.