Participation in childhood vaccinations in Iceland has not recovered since the downturn that occurred during the pandemic, RÚV reports. There is still a shortage of vaccines due to production problems.
Children’s participation in general vaccinations in 2022 was lower than in previous years, according to a new report from the Chief Epidemiologist. Increased strain on healthcare centres and a shortage of vaccines have impacted the situation and the healthcare system has not been able to make up for the vaccinations missed during the pandemic. The number of unvaccinated foreign citizens may be skewing the data and is being looked at more closely.
The Icelandic Medicines Agency (Lyfjastofnun) reports that the Boostrix Polio vaccine, which has been unavailable in Iceland for some time, has arrived in the country and goes on sale on September 13. Shortages of other routine vaccines for children have also been reported. While pharmaceutical wholesalers are responsible for stockpiling medicines in Iceland, various factors can cause temporary shortages of vaccines and other medicines.
Systematic vaccination has largely eliminated many diseases that regularly lead to death within the population. Continued vaccination is crucial for herd immunity to develop and diseases to be kept under control. Statistics from other countries show that when routine vaccination is relaxed, outbreaks of diseases such as measles, diphtheria, and polio have occurred.
