Vaccination

The Danish Health Authority expects that covid-19 will flare up during the autumn. Vaccinations will help us through the winter.

Updated: 13 September 2022

The primary purpose of the covid-19 vaccination program is to prevent serious illness, hospitalizations and death.

More information in Danish (sst.dk)

The Danish Health Authority recommends vaccination for certain groups:

  • People aged 50 and over
  • People under the age of 50 who are at increased risk of a serious illness with covid-19
  • Personnel in the health and care sector as well as parts of the social sector who have close contact with patients at increased risk
  • Relatives of persons at particularly high risk
  • Pregnant women

Nursing home residents and people aged 85 and over will be offered vaccination from mid-September. For others, the vaccination program against covid-19 begins on 1 October 2022.

The vaccines offered are updates of the original mRNA vaccines, which provide better protection against the omicron variant, and it is also expected that the effect of the vaccines will last for a longer time. The vaccines are considered to be very safe, and the side effects are the same as with the original mRNA vaccines.

It is free to be vaccinated, and it is voluntary whether you want to accept the offer. By being vaccinated, you also get a valid corona passport for travel.

Vaccination of the particularly vulnerable

The vaccination program against covid-19 in the autumn 2022 is intended to protect those at risk of serious illness.

The Danish Health Authority recommends that everyone aged 50 and over receive a booster vaccination against covid-19. In addition, it is also recommended that pregnant women, staff in the health and elderly areas and some parts of the social sector, and who have close contact with citizens and patients at increased risk, as well as relatives of persons at particularly increased risk, receive a booster vaccination against covid-19. Persons under the age of 50, who are at particular risk of a serious illness with covid-19, will also be able to receive a booster vaccination based on an individual assessment.

You can find a complete list of which diseases and conditions that are associated with an increased risk of a serious course of covid-19 at the Danish Health Authority here (in Danish):

Skal jeg vaccineres? (sst.dk)

Also persons under the age of 50 who are either relatives of persons at particularly increased risk or of health personnel etc. in contact with persons at particular risk, are recommended to be vaccinated, as the variant-updated mRNA vaccines used in the autumn vaccination program can have an infection-preventing effect.

Nursing home residents will be offered vaccination at their place of residence, while other citizens over the age of 85 will receive an invitation in e-Boks/mit.dk or as a physical letter around mid-September. You can then book an appointment for vaccination at vacciner.dk or call a regional hotline.

Get help from the Red Cross

At the Red Cross, citizens who for one reason or another feel insecure about being vaccinated or have difficulty getting to the vaccination site can get help and support if you contact the helpline at (+45) 35 29 96 60.

Ukrainian refugees are also welcome to contact the helpline

Read more at the Red Cross here:

Get a good jab (rodekors.dk)

Vaccination of children against covid-19

Children and young people only very rarely get a serious course of covid-19 with the omikron variant. Therefore, the offer of vaccination with the 1st and 2nd jab for children between 5 and 17 years of age will not be a general offer in future.

Children and young people who are at increased risk due to illness or a congenital disorder can be vaccinated if the doctor recommends it.

Recommendations for the non-vaccinated

The Danish Health Authority continues to recommend that persons who have not been vaccinated be vaccinated with the 1st and 2nd injections. This also applies for people younger than 50, as there may be a certain risk of serious illness if you are not vaccinated.

The older you are, the greater the risk of serious illness with covid-19. Therefore, mainly people over 40 will benefit from vaccination with the 1st and 2nd jab. However, younger people can also benefit, especially if they have risk factors such as chronic disease, severe obesity, etc.

About the vaccines

See the film from the Danish Health Authority about how the vaccine work.

The film is available in several languages.

Where can you get vaccinated?

Use the map to find a covid-19 vaccination location near you. The map shows both permanent vaccination centres, pharmacies and pop-up clinics.

Find covid-19 vaccination centre

Who is entitled to vaccination in Denmark?

You are entitled to vaccination in Denmark, if:

  • You are registered as residing in Denmark
  • You live abroad but are covered by a health insurance in Denmark (you have a special Health Insurance Card)
  • You are temporarily resident in Denmark, but are not covered by health insurance in Denmark

Vaccination in Denmark is voluntary and free of charge.

Book vaccination appointment

How you book your vaccination depends on which group you belong to.

Read more at the Danish Health Authority

Registered residence in Denmark

You have been automatically invited to be vaccinated based on your CPR number. 

Resident abroad, but covered by health insurance in Denmark

If you live abroad, but are covered by health insurance in Denmark, you will have a special Health Insurance Card with a CPR number. If you have a special Health Insurance Card, you are entitled to be vaccinated in Denmark.

If you have NemID or MitID

You have been automatically invited to be vaccinated. You can book a vaccination appointment yourself on vacciner.dk.

If you don’t have NemID or MitID

You are not automatically invited to be vaccinated. If you wish to be vaccinated, you should contact your region yourself.

You must state that you have a special Health Insurance Card and that you wish to be vaccinated. The region can book an vaccination appointment for you.

Temporary residence in Denmark

If you are temporarily residing in Denmark, you are entitled to be vaccinated, even if you are not covered by health insurance in Denmark.

In order for you to be vaccinated, your temporary residence must meet two criteria:

  • The duration of your stay must be at least 30 days.
  • The purpose of your stay must not be to receive a vaccination.

You are not automatically invited to be vaccinated when you do not have a CPR number.

If you wish to be vaccinated, you should contact your region. The region will make an appointment for you.

Purchase a Johnson & Johnson vaccination

In Denmark, it is possible to purchase vaccination with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine against covid-19. The option is available for everyone, but targeted people staying in Denmark for a shorter period of time with no access to vaccination in the Danish vaccination programme, e.g. seafarers, Danes living abroad and tourists.

Purchase vaccination

Corona passport with vaccine

Vaccination gives you a green corona passport. To use your vaccination as documentation in the corona passport, you must have received the first shot out of two with a vaccine approved in Denmark or by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Your corona passport is valid 14 days after the first shot and until 42 days after - if you have not received the second shot.

Read more about the corona passport

FAQs

Questions about vaccines

Updated: 11 May 2022

You are entitled to free vaccination in Denmark, if:

  • You are registered as residing in Denmark.
  • You live abroad but are covered by health insurance in Denmark (you have a special Health Insurance Card).
  • You are temporarily resident in Denmark, but are not covered by health insurance in Denmark.

However, health authorities do not offer vaccination to children under the age of 5, as the vaccines have not been approved for this age group.

See when you can expect to be offered a vaccine in the vaccination calendar from the Danish Health Authority (sst.dk)

Yes, if you are yet to start your vaccination you can chose between Pfizer/BioNTech (Comirnaty) or Moderna (Spikevax), which are the two vaccines offered in the danish vaccination programme.

Once you have had both of your vaccinations, you should expect to have the maximum protection of Pfizer/BioNTech’s Comirnaty after 7 days. Spikevax from Moderna provides maximum protection after 14 days. Vaxzevria from AstraZeneca® provides maximum protection 15 days after the second dose.

It is important that you follow the recommended intervals between the two vaccinations to get the maximum protection.

Vaccination using the vaccine from Johnson & Johnson is given in a single dose and provides maximum protection after two weeks.

You cannot be vaccinated while you have covid-19, but you can be vaccinated if you have had covid-19. However, we recommend that you wait to be vaccinated until one month after you are no longer ill.

If you are waiting for a test result about suspected covid-19, or because you are a close contact of someone infected, we recommend that you postpone the vaccination until you have received a negative test result. If you are waiting for a test result for other reasons, you may be vaccinated.

In general, we do not recommend that people are routinely tested for covid-19 before vaccination.

Book vaccination appointment on vacciner.dk (in Danish)

Book coronavirus test on coronaprover.dk (in Danish)

See your covid-19 test result on sundhed.dk (in Danish)

All vaccines, including the covid-19 vaccines, can have side effects. In general, these are mild and short-lasting side effects, and the authorities consider the vaccines to be very safe and well-documented.

Most people experience some pain where they are injected. Other common side effects include fatigue, headaches, muscle and joint pain, chills, a slight fever, and redness and swelling at the injection site. These are generally signs that your body’s immune system is reacting as it should to the vaccine. You do not need to call your doctor if you experience these known and short-term side effects.

In rare cases, severe allergic reactions (anaphylaxis) may occur, caused by e.g. allergy to something in the vaccine.

If you have previously had a severe allergic reaction after receiving a vaccine or injection, you should contact your doctor before you are vaccinated against covid-19. If you have a known allergy to macrogols/PEG/polyethylene glycol, you should not be vaccinated with Comirnaty from Pfizer/BioNTech, Spikevax from Moderna or Vaxzevria from AstraZeneca. Emergency staff will always be on hand to deal with rare allergic reactions at the covid-19 vaccination centres.

From other vaccines, we know that almost all vaccination side effects occur within the first six weeks of being vaccinated. It is very rare for them to occur later. Both the Danish and European medicines agencies monitor vaccines closely after they have been approved, both in terms of how well they work and how many side effects they cause.

See the Danish Medicines Agency’s page on reported side effects of covid-19 vaccines

Right now, it appears that the approved vaccines are helping to reduce the spread of infection. Therefore, some infection prevention measures will gradually be phased out for those who have been fully vaccinated.

It is not yet known how long the vaccines provide immunity for. The health authorities are following developments and research closely, and adapting the recommendations as we learn more about the vaccines and how effective they are. 

The recommendation is that you follow the guidelines in public spaces, even if you are fully vaccinated.

The Danish Health Authority expects the vaccination program to return in the fall because, based on previous experience, we expect covid-19 to be a seasonal disease. This means that the disease most likely flares up in fall and winter, just as we know it from, for example, influenza. Therefore, a new vaccination program against covid-19 may be necessary at a later stage.

The Danish Health Authority recommends that you complete your started vaccination series. That is, if you are missing your 2nd dose, you are recommended to take it, and if you are invited to your 3rd dose, you are also recommended to take it. This applies regardless of whether you have been infected with covid-19 between doses.

If you have had covid-19 between your vaccinations, we recommend that you wait until 1 month after you have recovered.

It is expected that the general population over the age of 18 is well protected against a serious course of illness and hospitalization with covid-19 after the 3rd dose, and that people under the age of 18 are well protected after the 2nd dose. This does not mean that you cannot become infected with covid-19, as vaccination has a lower effect on the spread of infection with the omicron variant, but as vaccinated you are well protected from a serious course of illness.

Still looking for answers?

You can find out more information in our FAQ section or by contacting one of the authorities' covid-19 hotlines.