First J&J jabs administered as doctors group raises concerns over effect on general practice

Discarded jab side-effects are effectively a new diseases for health professionals to look out for, warns Dansk Selskab for Almen Medicin

A number of people received the discarded Johnson & Johnson (J&J) jab on Sunday after special arrangements were made to give them to employees of Lowenco, a company near Kolding in central Jutland, ahead of them going out to India.

In total, 20 employees received either the discarded J&J or AstraZeneca jabs, which were respectively discarded by the authorities in May and April. 

While tens of thousands had already received the AZ vaccine, nobody in Denmark had received the J&J single jab solution before. Nevertheless, thousands had already been delivered ahead of its anticipated approval.

Not in risk group, so …
The injections were administered at Sønderbro Apotek on Amagerbrogade in Copenhagen, and the employees received them voluntarily, according to Lowenco chief executive Mikael Hoier, who also received one.

Hoier pointed out to DR that he was not in the risk group for side-effects such as blood clots, which is believed to include women who have received a hormonal therapy treatment, such as the contraceptive pill. 

In India, the Lowenco employees will install freezers where 2 million doses of a corona vaccine are being produced every day.

Quick to obtain
The discarded vaccines were officially made available to the public last week after the Health Ministry signed an executive order.

Firstly, one must fill out an online questionnaire, and then secondly undergo a video consultation with a doctor from the pharma-tech company Practio, which is overseeing the program. 

The vaccine can then be obtained following a 24-hour ‘reflection period’.

Your approval, your treatment!
The GP interest group Dansk Selskab for Almen Medicin remains opposed to the injections, and its chair Anders Beich contends that the politicians have made a “mockery” of the hospital system and general practice.

“These side-effects are a disease syndrome. We have to go out and find them, and they are rare,” he told DR.

“They look like quite banal side-effects at the beginning, but we will need to find them as early as possible so that people have the best prognosis in terms of survival.”

DSAM maintains that doctors who approve the injections should be directly responsible for treating side-effects, which it fears will mean fewer resources to treat other ailments.




  • Becoming a stranger in your own country

    Becoming a stranger in your own country

    Many stories are heard about internationals moving to Denmark for the first time. They face hardships when finding a job, a place to live, or a sense of belonging. But what about Danes coming back home? Holding Danish citizenship doesn’t mean your path home will be smoother. To shed light on what returning Danes are facing, Michael Bach Petersen, Secretary General of Danes Worldwide, unpacks the reality behind moving back

  • EU Foreign Ministers meet in Denmark to strategize a forced Russia-Ukraine peace deal

    EU Foreign Ministers meet in Denmark to strategize a forced Russia-Ukraine peace deal

    Foreign ministers from 11 European countries convened on the Danish island of Bornholm on April 28-29 to discuss Nordic-Baltic security, enhanced Russian sanctions, and a way forward for the fraught peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow

  • How small cubes spark great green opportunities: a Chinese engineer’s entrepreneurial journey in Denmark

    How small cubes spark great green opportunities: a Chinese engineer’s entrepreneurial journey in Denmark

    Hao Yin, CEO of a high-tech start-up TEGnology, shares how he transformed a niche patent into marketable products as an engineer-turned-businessman, after navigating early setbacks. “We can’t just wait for ‘groundbreaking innovations’ and risk missing the market window,” he says. “The key is maximising the potential of existing technologies in the right contexts.”

  • Gangs of Copenhagen

    Gangs of Copenhagen

    While Copenhagen is rated one of the safest cities in the world year after year, it is no stranger to organized crime, which often springs from highly professional syndicates operating from the shadows of the capital. These are the most important criminal groups active in the city

  • “The Danish underworld is now more tied to Scandinavia”

    “The Danish underworld is now more tied to Scandinavia”

    Carsten Norton is the author of several books about crime and gangs in Denmark, a journalist, and a crime specialist for Danish media such as TV 2 and Ekstra Bladet.

  • Right wing parties want nuclear power in Denmark

    Right wing parties want nuclear power in Denmark

    For 40 years, there has been a ban on nuclear power in Denmark. This may change after all right-wing parties in the Danish Parliament have expressed a desire to remove the ban.

Connect Club is your gateway to a vibrant programme of events and an international community in Denmark.