Coronavirus vaccine - information for the public
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The purpose of vaccination against COVID-19 is to prevent disease or to give a milder disease course without being exposed to serious side effects. We will inform about the effect and potential side effects so everyone can make an informed choice.
Each municipality is responsible for offering coronavirus vaccination to people who live there. Check the website of your municipality to see how vaccination is carried out locally and when you will be offered the vaccine. The offer is available to everyone in recommended groups living in Norway, including foreign citizens. It is not available to Norwegians or others living abroad.
All vaccination in Norway is voluntary.
About vaccination
The solutions used for appointments vary between municipalities. Check your municipality's website for information about the local arrangements. Contact your municipality if you need an interpreter or other special arrangements for vaccination. The vaccine and vaccination is free.
Do not turn up for vaccination if you have cold symptoms or a fever over 38 °C. Inform the vaccination centre as soon as possible if you cannot attend.
Tell the person giving the vaccine:
- if you have had earlier doses of coronavirus vaccine
- if you have had COVID-19 disease and how long ago
- you have received another vaccine within the last 7 days
Before vaccination you will be asked to answer some questions about your health:
The vaccine is given by an injection in the upper arm.
After you have had the vaccine, you will be asked to wait for 20 minutes in case you experience any reactions. Everyone who administers vaccines has had training and necessary medication will be available to treat possible allergic reactions.
It is not recommended to take another vaccine on the same day as the coronavirus vaccine. There should be at least 1 week between the coronavirus vaccine and other vaccines. If there is a strong need to take several vaccines at the same time, you should consult a doctor.
The coronavirus vaccine can be given at the same time as the regular seasonal influenza vaccine. For other vaccines, it is recommended that these are not given at the same time as the coronavirus vaccine, but there should be at least 1 week interval between vaccinations. If there is a strong need to take several vaccines at once, you should consult a doctor.
Vaccine recommendation for autumn 2023
The Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) recommends that the following groups should take a booster dose of coronavirus vaccine before the autumn/ winter season 2023/2024:
- adults aged 65 years and above, and residents in nursing homes
- adults aged 18-64 years who are in a risk group
- adolescents aged 12-17 years with severe underlying conditions
- children aged aged from 6 months up to, and including, 11 years with severe underlying conditions if the child's doctor considers it necessary
- pregnant women in their second and third trimesters. Vaccination in the first trimester can be considered if there are underlying conditions that give a significantly increased risk.
The updated vaccine Comirnaty Omicron XBB.1.5 is being offered this autumn. This vaccine covers sub-variants of the omicron coronavirus that are currently circulating. The vaccine can be given to children from 6 months of age and is used both for basic vaccination and as a booster dose.
Children from the age of 5 and adults who are covered by the recommendations for autumn 2023 should have one dose, regardless of whether they have been vaccinated previously or not. Children in risk groups from 6 months up to and including 4 years who have not been vaccinated before, should be vaccinated with 3 doses. See the table further down the page.
Vaccination with COVID-19 vaccine for the recommended groups before the autumn/winter season 23/24 will start at the same time as the influenza (flu) vaccination in early October.
It is possible to take the seasonal influenza vaccine at the same time as a booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Check with your municipality or your family doctor.
About risk groups and children/adolescents with underlying conditions
By risk groups we mean people with an increased risk of a severe COVID-19 disease course. These include:
People in the 18-64 year age groups with the following disease/ conditions are defined as medical risk groups:
- Organ transplant
- Immunodeficiency
- Hematologic (blood) cancer in the last 5 years
- Other active cancer, ongoing or recently finished treatment for cancer (especially immunosuppressive therapy, radiation therapy to the lungs or chemotherapy)
- Neurological or muscular disease with impaired coughing strength or lung function (e.g., ALS and cerebral palsy)
- Downs Syndrome
- Chronic kidney disease or significantly impaired renal function
- Chronic liver disease or significantly impaired liver function
- Immunosuppressive therapy, e.g. with autoimmune diseases
- Diabetes (particularly patients with chronic or poorly managed disease or complications)
- Chronic lung disease, including severe asthma that has required the use of high-dose inhaled steroids or steroid tablets during the last year
- Obesity with body mass index (BMI) of ≥ 35 kg/m2 or higher
- Dementia
- Chronic cardiovascular disease (except high blood pressure)
- Stroke
Other serious and / or chronic diseases may also increase the risk of a severe disease course. If you are unsure whether you are in a risk group, consult your doctor.
Children and adolescents
For children and adolescents, the following diseases/conditions can give an increased risk of a severe disease course:
- Organ transplantation
- Immunodeficiency (for example, congenital immunodeficiency or the use of drugs that cause significant systemic immunosuppression)
- Haematological cancer (e.g. leukaemia, lymphoma) within the last five years
- Other active cancer, ongoing or recently completed (within the last six months) anti-cancer treatment - especially immunosuppressive treatment, radiotherapy to the lungs or chemotherapy
- Neurological diseases or muscle diseases that cause reduced coughing strength or reduced lung function
- Chronic kidney disease with significantly reduced kidney function
- Severe heart disease (children with heart failure, severe pulmonary hypertension, cyanosis, single ventricle disease/"Fontan patients")
- Severe lung disease (e.g. cystic fibrosis, very severe asthma with deterioration requiring emergency admission to hospital within the past year)
- Other severe disease. Vaccination in such cases is assessed individually by a paediatrician.
For more detailed information about diseases/conditions that can give an increased risk for a severe COVID-19 disease course see:
How do mRNA vaccines work?
Comirnaty (from BioNTech/Pfizer) and Spikevax (from Moderna), are mRNA vaccines that are approved in Norway.
The vaccines contains the recipe (messenger RNA, or mRNA) for the characteristic spikes on the coronavirus encased in small fat bubbles. The body uses this recipe to make harmless copies of these spikes for the immune system to practise on. In this way, the immune system learns to recognise the coronavirus spikes and can defend the body if it becomes infected with the virus.
The messenger RNA is rapidly broken down by the body and has no effect on the body's genetic material.
In addition, the vaccines contain substances to keep them stable during production, storage and transport, as well as to provide the right pH, which is important for reducing pain during injection. These substances are water, salts and sugar.
- The vaccines do not contain live virus and do not cause COVID-19 disease.
- Antibiotics are not used in the production process, so the vaccines do not contain antibiotics or antibiotic residues.
- The vaccines do not contain adjuvants, which are substances that are added to some vaccines to increase the immune system's response. The vaccines do not contain products derived from pigs. The vaccines do not contain mercury.
The coronavirus vaccines act to prevent disease. They cannot cure an ongoing illness.
Side effects and symptoms after vaccination
Vaccination of pregnant and breastfeeding women
Vaccination of children and adolescents
Children and adolescents rarely have a severe COVID-19 disease course, although some may be admitted to hospital. Vaccination reduces this risk and will be appropriate for children and adolescents with serious underlying conditions. Children aged 6 months–4 years and 5–11 years will be offered a specific child dose.
Immunity following infection, with or without a single dose of vaccine, can also provide broad and lasting protection in children and adolescents. Recovery from COVID-19 therefore reduces the need for the number of vaccine doses.
| Age group | |
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12-17 years |
Should be vaccinated with one dose.
Adolescents with severely weakened immune systems may complete the primary vaccination series with further doses after evaluation by their doctor.
A booster dose is given according to the current recommendations.
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|
5 –11 years (10 µg/dose) |
Should be vaccinated with one dose.
Children with severely weakened immune systems may complete the primary vaccination series with further doses after evaluation by a doctor.
A booster dose is given according to the current recommendations.
|
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6 months–4 years |
May complete the primary vaccination series (3 doses) after consultation with their doctor.
A booster dose is given according to the current recommendations.
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About consent from parents and the child's right to co-determination
Vaccination is voluntary. Those who have reached the age of 16 are of legal age and can consent to vaccination themselves. For children who are offered the coronavirus vaccine, but have not yet reached 16 years of age), parents must consent to vaccination. In the case of joint parental responsibility, both must consent. Children and adolescents under 16 should be consulted, based on age and maturity and their opinion should be given weight.
- Consent form - vaccination of children aged 6 months up to, and including, 4 years
- Consent form - vaccination of children and adolescents from 5 up to, and including, 15 years of age
For children under the care of the child protection service, the consent competence is given to the child protection service. For unaccompanied young asylum seekers under the age of 16, the consent competence is given to the child's representative. Consent from the child protection service or representative should be confirmed in writing in a separate document.
Right to tailored information
Children have the right to receive tailored information. Parents should talk to their children about the decision to vaccinate and help to convey important information about this. The texts below and the links to tailored information material are intended to assist in this.
- What is a vaccine? (film)
- How do vaccines work? (film)
Vaccination of people who are sick, on medication or have allergies
It is common to postpone vaccination in cases of acute illness and with a fever above 38 °C.
Mast cell disease or uncontrolled asthma: If you have a mast cell disease, ask your doctor for an individual assessment, and of how you should be followed up both before and during vaccination.
Previous allergic reaction to COVID-19 vaccine or other serious allergic reaction to other vaccines, food, medicines, etc.: Contact your doctor for a personal assessment. If a doctor recommends that you be vaccinated, special precautions and a longer period of observation after vaccination may be necessary in order to manage any allergic reactions.
Increased bleeding tendency: If you are taking blood-thinning medication, you can be vaccinated in the normal way. If your bleeding tendency has increased due to another underlying medical condition, you should contact your doctor for an individual assessment. If you have haemophilia and are being treated with coagulation factor, you should be vaccinated on the same day as you receive your last dose of coagulation factor.
Severely impaired immunity: If you have severe immunodeficiency or are taking medications which severely impair your immune system, for example, due to haematological cancer, bone marrow transplant, organ transplant, etc., a shorter interval between doses is recommended for some vaccines. Tell the vaccination centre that you belong to this group, so they can adjust your vaccination schedule accordingly. If you are
unsure whether or not you belong to the group, consult the doctor who is treating you for advice.
Breastfeeding and pregnancy: Vaccination is recommended for breastfeeding women, there is no known risk of transfer of coronavirus vaccines to breast milk. Studies indicate that coronavirus vaccination is safe for both the pregnant woman and the foetus.
Vaccination is recommended for all pregnant women, regardless of trimester.
Why do we vaccinate?
Having undergone an infectious disease will often provide some protection (immunity) against reinfection, but some diseases can cause such a strong inflammatory reaction in the body that, for some people, it can become dangerous. Some people become severely ill and may die, or have serious medical complications.
A vaccine gives the body something to practise on that resembles the disease virus, but that cannot cause the disease. The immune system is stimulated so the body can recognise and fight the virus. The vaccine quickly disappears from the body but has taught the body to defend itself if it is later exposed to infection. We can easily and effectively protect ourselves against some of the dangerous infectious diseases, without having to be exposed to the risk of having the disease.
In addition, vaccination can help to limit transmission in society.
Vaccination cards and COVID-19 certificates
Vaccination card
A vaccination card is a documentation of which vaccines you have been given (in Norway) and are registered for you. You can log in to the vaccine service at helsenorge.no and download your electronic vaccination card. Coronavirus vaccination will also be visible on the card.
Vaccination cards are available in Norwegian and English.
COVID-19 certificate
The EU stopped the COVID-19 certificate system on 30th June 2023 and is no longer available.
