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Bent Høie takes action – Must be vaccinated urgently

On Friday, Minister of Health Bent Høie stated that the government will give priority to offering corona vaccine to all permanent residents over 45 years in «infection-free» Svalbard. This is because it will be very demanding to deal with an outbreak there.

– Can this lead to an earlier reopening on Svalbard than in the rest of Norway?

– The plan for the reopening of Norway is something we will return to, says State Secretary Saliba Andreas Korkunc at the Ministry of Health and Care Services to Dagbladet.

– Does the National Institute of Public Health recommend this solution?

– FHI’s role in this is only related to the practical implementation, says Korkunc.

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Contingency considerations

Dagbladet also asked to what extent the ministry has taken into account the infection pressure on Svalbard in connection with the decision to prioritize vaccination of all permanent residents over the age of 45.

– The decision to speed up the vaccination of the permanent residents of Svalbard has been made on the basis of emergency preparedness. An outbreak of infection on Svalbard will be very demanding to deal with for the health service there, and an evacuation of patients to the mainland will require large resources from Helse Nord, says Korkunc.

According to SSB 2417 inhabitants have been registered in Longyearbyen and Ny-Ålesund. The Ministry states that the proportion of the population in Svalbard who have an increased risk of serious covid-19 disease is lower than in the general population.

– In the first instance, the vaccine will be offered to everyone over the age of 45, and it is thus a question of a relatively limited group of people.

The national corona regulations also cover Svalbard, with some exceptions and adjustments related to quarantine and test regulations, as well as tourism activities. In addition, it was introduced a sanitary napkin order in Longyearbyen from 11 March.

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Very happy

Dagbladet has been in contact with the Governor of Svalbard, who refers to the Ministry of Health and Care Services. In a press release Local board chairman Arild Olsen at Longyearbyen local board states that he is very happy with this news.

– I am very happy with this news and want to praise the government. It is also appropriate to praise the local population and the local business community, who have shown an enormous ability to handle the pandemic, Olsen says in the press release and continues:

– Fortunately, we have remained infection-free. We have achieved this because we have good cooperation locally and nationally. What will be important in the future is to help us continue to keep it that way. It would be very unfortunate to go into a vaccine program with infection.

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Starts in March

According to FHI’s sober vaccination scenario, it is envisaged to be able to offer corona vaccine to everyone over the age of 45 in Norway during July. Minister of Health Høie states in a press release that vaccination of the population on Svalbard will start as early as March.

– Longyearbyen hospital will in collaboration with the Governor and Longyearbyen local council be able to organize a faster vaccination of permanent residents throughout Svalbard. The Ministry of Health and Care Services takes care of the vaccination through a separate assignment to the National Institute of Public Health, says Høie in the press releases.

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