Booster vaccination against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough and polio is recommended
The childhood immunisation programme offers vaccination against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough and polio (inNorwegian) for children in the second grade (around 7 years) and 10th grade (around 15 years).
The Norwegian Institute of Public Health recommends that all adults get a booster dose of these vaccines every ten years. All the vaccines can be administered as a single shot. The recommendation applies to all adults, not only those who plan to travel abroad.
Receiving a booster vaccine every ten years both ensures individual protection and helps maintain a high level of protection in the population. When the majority of the population has been vaccinated against a disease, what is known as “herd protection” is achieved, which protects those who have not been vaccinated. If the vaccination coverage declines, diseases that are currently under control in Norway, such as polio and diphtheria, can return.
The vaccine itself costs approximately NOK 300. You must also pay an additional fee to have the vaccine administered, which varies from place to place.
Do you need a booster dose against measles?
Most adults who were born and raised in Norway are protected against measles, either because they are vaccinated or because they have had the disease. The measles vaccine was introduced in the childhood immunisation programme for 1-year-olds in 1969, and as a part of the MMR vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella (in Norwegian) for sixth-graders in 1983.
The Norwegian Institute of Public Health's recommendations
If you were born in 1970 or later:
- If you know that you have taken part in the childhood immunisation programme (in Norwegian), you will have been offered the measles vaccine. No additional doses are necessary.
- If you do not know if you were included the childhood immunisation programme (and therefore received the measles vaccine/MMR vaccine), or do not know if you have had the diseases in question, one dose of the MMR vaccine is recommended. This will give most people sufficient long-term protection.
If you were born between 1960 and 1969:
- The vast majority in this age group have had measles, and therefore do not need to be vaccinated. However, after the introduction of the measles vaccine, the incidence of disease decreased. As a result, some people lack immunity against measles because they have not been vaccinated nor had the disease. If you are in doubt, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health recommends getting one dose of the MMR vaccine.
If you were born before 1960:
- The likelihood of having had measles is so high that the MMR vaccine is not considered necessary.
Getting the MMR vaccine does not increase the risk of side effects even if you have been vaccinated previously or have had one or more of the diseases that the vaccine protects against.
Do you need a booster dose of other vaccines in the childhood immunisation programme?
There is generally no need for booster doses of other vaccines you have been offered as part of the childhood immunisation programme. Some may need re-immunisation due to disease or medical treatment.
Where can you receive a booster vaccine?
Contact your GP or a vaccination centre to book an appointment for vaccination.
Unsure if you need a booster vaccine?
Log on to the vaccination service on Helsenorge.no to check the vaccination status for yourself or your own children under 16 years of age.
The information in the vaccination service is based on the vaccinations that health clinics, GPs or vaccination centres have registered in the national immunisation registry, SYSVAK.
Vaccines that have been administered outside the public vaccination programmes (the childhood immunisation programme, the HPV vaccine offered to young women and the influenza vaccination programme) must be registered in SYSVAK if the person being vaccinated agrees to the registration. The requirement to register vaccinations on SYSVAK was only introduced in 2011, and vaccines administered before 2011 may not have been registered on SYSVAK.