What is Norway’s Covid-19 vaccine policy?

Everyone living in Norway over the age of 18 will be offered a vaccine. Children aged between 12 and 15 in risk groups will also be offered vaccines. 

Vaccination is entirely optional in Norway and isn’t required for the Covid-19 certificate, more on that here. 

Vaccination is free for everyone in the Nordic country too. 

You can read more information on Norway’s vaccination program here. 

When will I receive my vaccine? 

Norway operates with two vaccine scenarios, one conservative and one more optimistic.

The short answer would be that Norway is aiming to offer everybody over the age of 18 their first jab by August 1st and expects everyone to be fully inoculated by mid-September. 

These targets are based on Norway’s “conservative” vaccination scenario. 

The scenarios offer a rough estimate on when municipalities will start offering offering each priority group vaccines. For example, according to the “conservative” schedule Norway should already be vaccinated everyone aged 45 and over and will start vaccinating those aged between 18 and 44 later in June.

The more optimistic scenario envisages both doses being offered a week earlier than the sober scenario. 

However, in practice, this will depend on a few factors, such as the number of vaccines Norway will receive in the future and the efficiency of the inoculation program. 

READ ALSO: Pandemic in Europe won’t be over until 70 percent are vaccinated, says WHO

When will I know it’s my turn?

The exact timeframe you can expect to receive your vaccine shots depends entirely on where you live. 

This is because vaccination in Norway is handled by the individual municipalities, meaning that the date you get your jab is dependent on your municipality’s progress in vaccinating the priority groups. 

Essentially those who are older and have underlying conditions are prioritised over younger people with no underlying conditions. You can see the list of priority risk groups here. 

Here is an overview of how far in the vaccination program some of Norway’s largest cities are.

In Bergen, those who are 50 and older are being inoculated. Stavanger is offering shots to those aged 55-64 with no underlying conditions. Ålesund is giving vaccines to those 55 and up. Trondheim is vaccinating all priority groups. Tromsø is taking bookings from those aged between 25 and 39 and is vaccinating those aged between 55 and 64.

In Oslo, which priority group is being offered vaccines depends on the district you live in. For example, in Frogner, those aged between 55-64 are being offered shots, whereas in Bjerke, those aged 18 and up are being given doses. You can read more detailed info on Oslo here.

Once it is time for your priority group to be vaccinated, you will be contacted by the municipality to book a slot. In some cases, you may have to register before the authorities get in touch with you. You can either register directly with the municipality or via helsenorhe.no. 

You may also have to register in the municipality you live in if you are not in the national population register or your information is out of date.

If you’d like a rough time frame of when you will be vaccinated, it’s best to contact your municipalities coronavirus immunisation services. 

The Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) has put together a handy tool that offers a link to the website and contact details for the vaccine services in every municipality in Norway. 

The sites will offer links to who to contact to register, which groups are being offered vaccines and, in some cases, weekly reports on the immunisation program.

Here is the link to the NIPH’s tool that offers links to every municipality.  

Currently, the interval between vaccine doses is up to nine weeks for healthy people under 65. This means you will be fully vaccinated no later than nine weeks after your first dose. 

However, the NIPH will trim the interval to four weeks later in the summer to ensure everybody is fully vaccinated according to schedule. 

How do I book my vaccine? 

As the immunisation program is handled by local authorities, there is no centralised booking system. This means that being booked in for a vaccine is a different process in each municipality across Norway. 

In Bergen, you will receive a letter from letters once it is your turn to book. In Oslo, you will receive an SMS with a link that you can follow to book the jab. In Stavanger, you will receive a message with an invitation. In Ålesund, there is an online booking system. In Trondheim, you can book online or by telephone. In Tromsø, you register to join the queue and then the authorities will text you.

To find out how to book an appointment in your area, you can use the NIPH’s tool.