Since the beginning of the pandemic, Denmark has recorded 344,088 cases of COVID with 2,580 deaths.
In contrast, we have 1,976,202 cases and 33,330 deaths and counting. Denmark, of course, has a population of only 5,815,792 while we have a population of 111,265,058.
The Danish government announced last week that the country will no longer consider COVID-19 as “a socially critical disease”. “The epidemic is under control. We have record high vaccination rates,” said Health Minister Magnus Heunicke in a statement last Friday.
Starting September 10, they will drop some of the special rules and restrictions that have been introduced in the fight against COVID-19.
In July this year, the country introduced a digital coronavirus passport that had to be shown when required. Starting 10th September, Denmark will partially phase out vaccination card requirements for some major events, like concerts, and nightclubs.
This is because ~76% of all people over the age of 12 in Denmark have been fully vaccinated. Getting the COVID vaccine in Denmark is voluntary but the majority of people aged 12 years and older have received the vaccine. Denmark is the European Union’s third-most vaccinated country, only Malta (82%) and Portugal (73%) are higher.
The situation in Denmark is not one where the disease has been eradicated. They are still seeing large numbers of infections but it has become a very manageable disease, not one that most people need to be afraid of and not the sort of pandemic which would lead to large-scale economic shutdowns.
This is an encouraging picture. If the garbage and nonsense coming from the anti-vax can be effectively countered and if more people truly listen to science and not the pseudo-experts who have obviously no idea of what they are talking about, we will eventually be able to reach vaccination rates comparable to Denmark’s in (hopefully) the not so distant future.
This tells us that bringing the pandemic back under control is still very much a reachable target. We just need to maintain a high rate of daily vaccinations and we will get there someday. While we are waiting for the vaccination coverage to be over 70%, everyone should wear masks and maintain physical distancing and follow all public health and social measures.
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Dr. Melvin Sanicas (@Vaccinologist) is a physician-scientist specializing in vaccines, infectious diseases, and global health.