Here, you can find information about who is advised to get the COVID-19 vaccine, the vaccines that you may be offered and the side effects they can cause.
Illustrasjon: Mostphotos / Jason Baxter
How to book an appointment for COVID-19 vaccination
Who should get the COVID-19 vaccine?
How many vaccine doses should I have?
Can I have a COVID-19 vaccine and a flu vaccine at the same time?
Different vaccine types
What happens before, during and after vaccination?
Side effects
How to book an appointment for COVID-19 vaccination
To book an appointment for COVID-19 vaccination, you need to contact the municipality where you are living or staying. See the municipality's website for information on how to book an appointment.
Have you been asked to book an appointment on Helsenorge?
Some municipalities and GPs offer appointments for COVID-19 vaccination on Helsenorge.
Have you been told to book an appointment via Helseboka?
Many municipalities ask you to book an appointment for COVID-19 vaccination through Helseboka. You can find more information about when and how to register and book an appointment, on the website of your municipality.
Who should get the COVID-19 vaccine?
Everyone over the age of 18 is advised to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Those born in 2004 and 2005 have also previously been advised to get vaccinated. It is voluntary and free for everyone to get the vaccine.
Why is it advised to get the COVID-19 vaccine?
Lower risk of serious illness
The vaccines are very effective against COVID-19 that is so severe that hospitalisation is necessary. This means that if you get COVID-19 even though you're vaccinated, the vaccine can make your illness milder.
So far, the vaccines have provided good protection against serious illness from the various mutated virus variants. This also appears to apply to the Omicron variant.
Lower risk of infection
Vaccinated people have a lower risk than unvaccinated people of becoming infected. Vaccinated people can still become infected and pass on the infection.
Protection weakens over time
The protection provided by the vaccines weakens over time, especially among the elderly and those with weakened immune systems. NIPH is therefore closely monitoring the duration of protection in different groups, and recommends booster doses to the different groups accordingly. Booster doses provide longer-lasting protection.
The COVID-19 vaccine is now being offered to children aged 5-11, if their parents so wish.
This offer is most relevant for children with chronic illnesses, children who come into contact with vulnerable people, and children who live in or are moving to countries with a high risk of infection or poor access to health services. Read more in the news article from NIPH.
Some children aged 5-11 with serious underlying health conditions will also be offered the vaccine.
It is the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine that will be used and the dose will be specially adapted for children.
If you are unsure whether your child is in this group or you have any questions, you can talk to your child's GP or the doctor where your child is receiving treatment and follow-up.
NIPH has prepared an overview of recommendations and offers of the COVID-19 vaccine for children and adolescents; see the overview here.
All children aged 12-15 will be offered a second dose of the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine, if they and their parents so wish. Those who have previously had COVID-19 are not currently being recommended for vaccination.
Some children in this age group may also be offered two doses of the vaccine after an assessment by a doctor, for example anyone who lives with particularly vulnerable people or who themselves have a serious illness.
NIPH has prepared an overview of recommendations and offers of the COVID-19 vaccine for children and adolescents; see the overview here.
All children aged 16-17 are advised to get two doses of the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine. There should be a 12-week interval between doses. Those who have previously had COVID-19 are only recommended to have one vaccine dose.
NIPH has prepared an overview of recommendations and offers of the COVID-19 vaccine for children and adolescents; see the overview here.
Anyone under the age of 30 should consider choosing the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine when getting vaccinated. This is because of a rare side effect called myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle).
The condition occurs more frequently among boys and younger men, in addition to some younger women. There is also some evidence of a higher prevalence after receiving the Moderna vaccine as a second dose.
If you have previously had COVID-19, you only need to have one vaccine dose to be considered to have completed primary vaccination. This applies no matter how long it has been since you were diagnosed with COVID-19.
You should receive the vaccine dose three months after recovering from COVID-19. If you receive the vaccine before three months have passed, you will be considered to be vaccinated as long as at least three weeks have passed between the positive COVID-19 test and vaccination.
Children and adolescents aged 12-15 who have had COVID-19 are not currently recommended for vaccination.
If you get COVID-19 after receiving your first vaccine dose
If you get COVID-19 after receiving your first vaccine dose the following is recommended:
Confirmed COVID-19 before three weeks after the first vaccine dose: get a second dose about three months after you become symptom-free.
Confirmed COVID-19 more than three weeks after the first vaccine dose: you are considered to have completed primary vaccination and do not need to get a second vaccine dose.
If you get COVID-19 after receiving your second vaccine dose
NIPH has prepared an overview for certain groups of people with medical conditions, people on medication and allergy sufferers. See the information from NIPH here.
People vaccinated with the Janssen vaccine will be offered an additional dose of mRNA vaccine. Contact the vaccination programme in the municipality in which you live. Read more in the news article from NIPH.
How many vaccine doses should I have?
Primary vaccination
The first two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine (doses 1 and 2) are called ‘primary vaccination’.
If you have been tested and confirmed to have had COVID-19, one vaccine dose will be sufficient to be considered to have completed primary vaccination.
For those with severely weakened immune systems, primary vaccination consists of three doses.
Time interval between dose 1 and dose 2
For the best effect, you should take the second dose 3-12 weeks after the first. If the vaccines are administered at too short an interval, you will not receive a valid COVID-19 certificate.
Recommended minimum interval between doses 1 and 2
BioNTech/Pfizer: 21 days
Moderna: 28 days
Combination of BioNTech/Pfizer and Moderna: 28 days
No upper limit has yet been set for the interval between COVID-19 vaccines, for either children or adults.
Booster doses after primary vaccination
A ‘booster dose’ means dose 3 or the doses received after primary vaccination. A booster dose is recommended for those aged 45 years and older, anyone over the age of 18 who belongs to the risk groups and employees in the health and care services.
Healthy persons aged 18-44 who so wish may be offered a booster dose (dose 3).
The interval between dose 2 and the booster dose (dose 3) should be at least 20 weeks. If you get COVID-19 after you have had two doses of the vaccine, you should be well-protected.
Some people are being advised to get a new booster dose before the upcoming winter season (2022)
As there may be a new infection peak during the autumn/winter and the virus is constantly changing, some groups are advised to get a new booster dose. A minimum of four months should pass between the previous dose and the new booster dose.
The following groups are advised to get a new booster dose:
everyone aged 65 and older, including nursing home residents
anyone aged 18 and older who belong to the risk groups
anyone aged 12-17 with severe underlying health conditions
pregnant women in the 2nd or 3rd trimester
For most people, a new booster dose will be dose 4 of the COVID-19 vaccine, but for some people with weakened immune systems it may be dose 5. The recommendation for a new booster dose also applies if you have recently had COVID-19. A new booster dose should be given 3-4 months after recovery.
It is also possible for anyone between the ages of 18 and 64 who does not belong to a risk group to have a fourth dose, if they so wish.
Can I have a COVID-19 vaccine and a flu vaccine at the same time?
A COVID-19 vaccine can be given at the same time as the regular flu vaccine, as long as the vaccines are injected into different arms.
Nursing home residents receive a stronger variant of the flu vaccine, and should wait at least seven days between having the flu vaccine and the COVID-19 vaccine.
For other vaccines, it is recommended that these are not given at the same time as the COVID-19 vaccine, and that at least one week should pass between vaccinations. Speak to your doctor if you need to have several vaccinations at once.
The following vaccines are used in the Norwegian COVID-19 vaccination programme:
Comirnaty (BioNTech and Pfizer)
Comirnaty Original/Omicron BA.1 (BioNTech and Pfizer) – used as a booster dose only
Comirnaty Original/Omicron BA.4-5 (BioNTech and Pfizer) – used as a booster dose only
Spikevax bivalent Original/Omicron BA.1 (Moderna) – used as a booster dose only
Spikevax (Moderna)
Nuvaxovid (Novavax)
Everyone under the age of 18 is vaccinated with the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine. Anyone under the age of 30 should also consider choosing the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine when getting vaccinated.
Combining different COVID-19 vaccines
You are advised to accept the vaccine you are offered. Combining vaccines provides equally good protection and entails no greater risk of serious side effects compared with having a vaccine from the same manufacturer.
Only the name of the last type of vaccine you have received will be shown on your COVID-19 certificate.
Booster doses are given with updated versions of the COVID-19 vaccines Comirnaty and Spikevax
Regardless of whether you are having your first or second booster dose, you will be offered an updated vaccine. The purpose of updating the vaccine is to adapt it to new variants of the virus. Read more about the updated vaccines at Legemiddelverket.no (in Norwegian).
The vaccine is an updated version of the original vaccines, but targets a variant of the Omicron virus in addition to the original COVID-19 virus (SARS-CoV-2).
The updated vaccine will probably provide better protection against infection, but the duration of this protection has not yet been determined with any certainty. Protection against serious illness will probably be good regardless of which vaccine you have.
The Norwegian Institute of Public Health's clear advice is that the target groups for the booster dose should now accept the vaccine they are offered, because it is important to strengthen protection against serious illness.
What happens before, during and after vaccination?
Before vaccination, you will be asked to answer some questions about your health:
You should not go to the vaccination centre if you have cold symptoms or a fever above 38 °C on the day of vaccination. Notify the vaccination centre as soon as possible to get a new appointment.
When you get vaccinated, you should let them know:
about any previous dose(s) of COVID-19 vaccine you have received
whether you have had COVID-19 and, if so, how long ago you had it
if you have been vaccinated with another vaccine within the last seven days
How is the vaccine administered?
The vaccine will be administered by injection into your upper arm.
After the vaccination, you will be asked to wait at the vaccination centre for at least 20 minutes, so that you can be monitored in case you experience any reactions. Anyone who administers vaccinations will have received the training and have the necessary medications available to deal with any allergic reaction.
Exercise after the COVID-19 vaccine
If you are fit and healthy, there's no reason not to exercise.
Side effects
All vaccines have side effects, most of which are mild and temporary.
The most common side effects are:
pain and swelling around the injection site
fatigue
headache
chills
nausea/vomiting
fever
muscle and joint pain.
So far, the side effects of using the new updated vaccines appear to be the same as with booster vaccinations with the original vaccines.
Serious side effects of vaccines are rare. Some side effects are only detected when a vaccine is used by larger and more complex groups than those who participated in the studies before the vaccine was approved.
The Norwegian Medicines Agency and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health closely monitor vaccination with COVID-19 vaccines and suspected side effects that are reported after vaccination.
Healthcare professionals who administer vaccines have a duty to report serious or unexpected events that they believe may be linked to vaccination.
The Norwegian Medicines Agency regularly publishes overviews of suspected adverse reactions (side effects), you can find the overviews here (Legemiddelverket.no, in Norwegian).
It is not necessary to report less serious side effects listed in the package leaflet: Pain and swelling at the puncture site, fatigue, headache, chills, nausea/vomiting, fever, muscle and joint pain.
It is most important to report
new side effects not listed in the package leaflet
unexpected side effects
serious side effects
vaccine failure (lack of effect after the vaccine is expected to provide protection)
It is sufficient for you to suspect that the side effect is linked to the vaccine.
You can find a link to the package leaflets for the vaccines here (in Norwegian):
