Travel and combining vaccines

Historical archive

Published under: Solberg's Government

Publisher: Ministry of Health and Care Services

News story | Date: 03/09/2021

Vaccination is the way out of the pandemic, and the second dose offers good protection against serious illness and infection. Norway will continue to switch between the two mRNA vaccines, so that as many people as possible can be fully vaccinated as soon as possible.

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‘Even though some countries at present do not consider people who have been given different vaccines for their first and second doses to be fully vaccinated, it is important that as many people as possible accept their second dose, regardless of which vaccine is offered.

You will not have good protection from both becoming seriously ill and transmitting COVID-19 to others until you have received your second dose. We are not aware of any Norwegian travellers having encountered difficulties as a result of combining vaccines’, says Minister of Health and Care Services Bent Høie.

It is the assessment of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health that combining vaccines offers equally good protection, and does not entail a greater risk of serious side effects. At least 15 countries in the EU combine vaccines, and the EU recommends that people who have received two different vaccines due to their national vaccine strategies be recognised as fully vaccinated. Canada has furthermore combined vaccines extensively using the same vaccines as in Norway.

The standard within the EU/EEA is that a COVID-19 certificate offers the status of fully vaccinated for entry into another EU country two weeks after the final vaccine dose. Only the final dose appears on the COVID-19 certificate.

Germany recently changed its rules and currently considers people who have combined Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to be fully vaccinated for travel purposes.

At present, the UK and the USA only consider people who have had the same vaccine for their first and second dose to be fully vaccinated. The UK has put Norway on its green list for entry into the country and does not require travellers from Norway to quarantine, regardless of a person's vaccination status.

‘We are in talks with the EU and the UK about this. We will not change our practice of vaccinating people using both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines’, says Mr Høie.

Norwegian citizens are currently prohibited from ordinary entry into the USA.

All countries are free to introduce measures and restrictions in an attempt to prevent further transmission. The entry rules in different countries often vary, and may change at short notice due to unpredictable infection rates. All travellers must therefore ensure that they familiarise themselves thoroughly with the applicable rules in the country they plan to visit.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs advises against all non-essential foreign travel, except to countries in the EU/EEA, Switzerland, and the UK, and countries on the EU’s list of third countries which the Norwegian Institute of Public Health considers to be safe. These are known as purple countries.

Travel quarantine and rules upon arrival in Norway – Norwegian Institute of Public Health

The travel advice changed recently and will apply until 1 October.