This week, April 26-30, just under 23,000 individuals will receive the first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine, making this the largest vaccination week in Iceland so far. The people will be vaccinated with the Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and the Janssen vaccine.
Before the week started, 80,721 people have received the first injection of a vaccine, just under 22% of the total population. 32,609 people are fully vaccinated, 8.85 % of Icelanders. At the end of the week, around 104.000 people will have received at least one shot of the vaccine, around 28.2 of the total population.
In addition to previously announced vaccine shipments, Iceland has received a large shipment of the AstraZeneca vaccine on loan from Norway. Norwegian authorities are holding off on using the AstraZeneca vaccine but were in possession of 216,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine set to expire in June or July. They decided to offer these doses as a loan to Iceland and Sweden, 200.000 does for Sweden and 16.000 for Iceland, to be repaid in the same amount of AstraZeneca vaccine doses when Norway calls for it.
In Reykjavík, people are vaccinated in the Laugardalshöll indoor stadium. This week, the stadium will fill up with people between the ages of 60 and 70 as well as people with underlying long-term illnesses who are at particular risk. This group can include younger people and will include the families of children with chronic illnesses, as there are currently no vaccines approved for children under the age of sixteen. Among the people scheduled to be vaccinated this week is Chief Epidemiologist Þórólfur Guðnason who will be vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine.
