Although Denmark received Covid-19 vaccines at the same time and in the same proportions as other European Union countries, it has been immunising its population faster than others. Can Lithuania learn from its experience?
The article is part of LRT's solutions journalism project, LRT Looks for Solutions.
In Denmark, vaccination plans and infrastructure had been in place a few weeks before the vaccines arrived. Every detail of what to do once they were in the country was carefully planned, says Lisbeth Nielsen, director general of the Danish Health Data Service.
The vaccination plan hsa been implemented at two levels. First, decisions are taken centrally – the vaccine doses arrive at the National Serum Institute responsible for epidemic control, and are then distributed to the country's five healthcare regions.
Regional services must then ensure that the vaccines are distributed to hospitals and other institutions.
“Each region has to use the vaccines it receives within a few days and all the regions had it planned out,” said Nielsen.
Hospital workers as well as residents and employees of nursing homes have been the first to receive the jabs, according to the Health Ministry.
Regional authorities had sent in information about the most affected nursing homes and these were prioritised while distributing the first vaccines, Nielsen said.
Acorss the other side of the Baltic Sea, Lithuania's system is similar to the one in Denmark. Vaccines are distributed to five major hospitals in the country, which then pass them on to regional hospitals and supervise vaccinations in nursing homes.
Everyone notified
To inform people about the vaccination programme, Denmark uses an online system similar to Lithuania's e.sveikata (e.health).
“A few weeks prior, everyone received an email informing about their inclusion into the programme and that the person will definitely get the vaccine,” said Aistė Hoffbeck, a Lithuanian who lives in Denmark.
To help organise the vaccination programme, Denmark also uses special identification numbers that every resident of the country has.
People in line to get the jab are picked from the national register and receive a registration ticket, said Nielsen. “They can choose the vaccination time and place.”
More shots per bottle
When Denmark received the first batch of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines, people administering the shots decided that one bottle would be enough to vaccinate six or even seven people, instead of the usual five.
Specialists themselves made the decision, while in Lithuania, the use of the sixth jab caused a lot of discussions and the Ministry of Health allowed it only after it was approved by the European Medicines Agency on January 8.
“It exemplifies the attitude of the Danish society. If you are the specialist, you can make your own decisions. [...] There is no need to call somewhere, change plans, confirm anything,” Hoffbeck said.
What can Lithuania learn?
According to Nielsen, digitisation is crucial for a smooth vaccination effort, which allows to better monitor and manage the process.
Kęstutis Petrikonis, vice rector of the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences (LSMU), told LRT that Lithuania could also use such a system.
“There is no need to invent anything new. We just need to adopt the electronic systems we already use. We have proposed to use the electronic prescription subsystem. [...] It could be adapted to be more user-friendly, as some people find it difficult to use,” Petrikonis said.
Jens Lundgren, a professor of viral diseases at the University of Copenhagen, said that “if you do it centrally, the coordination is comprehensive".
"The health professionals, pharmacists, doctors and nurses can contribute to the process,” he added, underlining the importance of explaining vaccination programmes to the public.
“It’s very important to ensure that no one is jumping the queue. Otherwise, confidence in the vaccination plan can be destroyed very quickly,” he said.
According to Petrikonis, vaccination in Lithuania should follow the same principles: first decisions should be made centrally, and then local authorities should implement them independently, according to standardised guidelines.
Biggest challenges still ahead
Denmark is among the EU leaders in administering Covid-19 shots, but the country's experts say the biggest challenges are still ahead.
The country is planning to develop an infrastructure to be able to vaccinate 100,000 people a day and immunise most of the population by the end of June.
A recent survey by the international healthcare organisation HOPE shows that 87 percent of Danes agree to get vaccinated.
However, Denmark has been struggling ensure that everyone shows up on time to get the jab.
“When we start vaccinating middle-aged and young people, there may be more difficulties. People may not always find time, some will already have experienced side effects,” said Lundgren.
According Petrikonis, Lithuania's local authorities don't have clear guidelines on how to vaccinate the public, so it is necessary to create a system to make sure that once big quantities of vaccines arrive, everyone knows in advance when and where they need to show up.
“When many people come to get a vaccine, all sorts of problems will occur. We will need to learn how to overcome it,” he said.
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