Norway's Top Medical Bureaucrat Says Three COVID Shots Not Enough, Fourth May Become Necessary

While Norway's current definition of “fully vaccinated” still means two shots, this may change if the novel Omicron strain proves to be more virulent, its health boss suggested.

Norway's Health Director Bjørn Guldvog has argued that three doses of the COVID vaccine may not be enough, and a fourth one may be necessary already this spring.

The government’s current goal is for the entire adult population to get the so-called booster shot before Easter, but according to Health Director Bjørn Guldvog, it is not certain that this will be the last shot that people will need.

“We must be prepared for the fact that three doses of corona vaccine are not enough,” Guldvog told P4 Radio channel.

Amid fears that the novel Omicron variant could become dominant, vaccine manufacturers are considering new shots aimed specifically at defeating the new variant.

“I think they will do it, and that the vaccines will start to be available from March-April,” Guldvog said.

He emphasised, though, that it is far from certain that these vaccines will be available in Norway as early as March or April.

“Therefore, we depend on having a good vaccination rate with the ones we already have,” Guldvog mused.

However, despite the fact everyone will now receive the third dose, the definition of “fully vaccinated” will still include two shots, with no plans to change the criteria, according to Guldvog. However, he said that this may change if the new strain turns out to be more virulent.

“We must look at the effect of the new strain. It is not certain that being fully vaccinated will mean the same thing when the new variant becomes dominant,” the health director explained.

Bjørn Guldvog emphasised that while the new strain will probably invoke certain restrictions, it is unlikely to lead to a full lockdown.

The novel COVID strain was first discovered in South Africa and reported to the World Health Organisation (WHO) on 24 November. It has since spread to several countries, including in Europe, which has so far responded with travel restrictions.

As of now, 87.8 percent of all adult Norwegians have been vaccinated with two shots. However, despite the high level of vaccination, COVID-19 infections in Norway are currently at their peak, with a record 4,045 cases recorded over the past 24 hours.

There have been some 268,000 infections and 1,092 coronavirus-related deaths reported in the 5.2-million-strong country since the pandemic began.