The first round of Iceland’s COVID-19 booster shot campaign has concluded, with over 135,891 shots administered to fully vaccinated individuals. The Reykjavík capital area healthcare system will now be holding drop-in vaccination days over the next three weeks, until December 30, RÚV reports. Healthcare authorities are also organising a vaccination campaign for children 5-11 years old, pending approval from health authorities.
“We are no longer sending out [booster shot] invitations,” explained Ragnheiður Ósk Erlendsdóttir, director of nursing for capital area health centres. “Now we’re maybe also welcoming students who are coming from abroad and are coming home for Christmas. We want to keep a lifeline open for them. And also if there are any people out there who are still unvaccinated then absolutely hurry on down.”
The booster shot campaign will continue in January, and those who received their second dose of COVID-19 vaccine at least 5 months prior will receive SMS invitations to receive their booster. Health authorities are preparing a vaccination campaign for children 5-11 years of age, pending authorisation for that age group to receive COVID-19 vaccines. “The Chief Epidemiologist has yet to make that decision. To go into that group and vaccinate, but we want to be ahead of the curve as the ones who would carry it out and are already thinking about how we would do it,” Ragnheiður stated. “It would likely be done by going into all schools. And during school hours. And we would get help from all of the healthcare centres to carry out that project, so it will be a big and complex project.”
The schedule for drop-in vaccination in Laugardalshöll, Reykjavík this month is as follows:
This week (10:00 AM – 3:00 PM):
- Monday, December 13
- Tuesday, December 14
- Wednesday, December 15
- Thursday, December 16
Next week (10:00 AM – 3:00 PM):
- Monday, December 20
- Tuesday, December 21
- Wednesday, December 22
The following week (10:00 AM – 12:00 PM):
- Monday, December 27
- Tuesday, December 28
- Wednesday, December 29
- Thursday, December 30
