Slight delay in Covid vaccine deliveries

A first batch of 4,770 Covid vaccines was initially believed to arrive on Saturday, with vaccination due to start immediately.

However, there will be a few days’ delay in the delivery of the first vaccines. This is partly due to logistical complications related to vaccine manufacturer Pfizer’s specific transport requirements and partly a result of international supply and demand issues.

The first batch is expected to arrive around New Year, but it will only contain about 1,000 vaccines, with subsequent fortnightly deliveries of about 1,000 vaccines, health minister Kaj Leo Holm Johannesen announced today.

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“As I have understood, the Faroes will still be receiving its initial allocation of 4,770 vaccines; however, these vaccines will be delivered over several weeks and not as a single consignment as we were initially informed,” he says.

Assuming that the first batch will contain 1,000 vaccines, only 500 people will be vaccinated in the first round, as the remaining 500 vaccines will be stored for the follow-up vaccinations three weeks later.

“This is done to ensure that the first people who get vaccinated are guaranteed their follow-up dose,” says the minister.

“The uncertainties surrounding early availability of the vaccine are due to unprecedented high demand and limited supply.”

No evidence of UK strain so far

The highly contagious Covid strain recently identified in the UK has so far not been found in the Faroes.

Random analyses of test samples from March to the end of September showed no signs of the mutant strain.

Scientists at HFS, the Food and Veterinary Authority, are preparing to sequence 22 recent positive Covid test samples from people who are not linked to known chains of infection to determine whether they contain the new variant, which is believed to be 70 percent more contagious than previous strains.

The results of yesterday’s testing round have not yet been published.

For further information about Covid-19 in the Faroes, visit corona.fo.

Translated by prosa.fo