As long as the spread of infection is high, the societal restrictions should continue, the group believes. According to the report, Sweden’s vaccination rate is not yet high enough to release physical distancing and other restrictions that reduce the risk of infection.

Especially the elderly and fragile are urged to be careful. It is important to emphasize that the vaccines do not provide full protective effect until at least one week after dose two, the expert group states in a press release.

Due to the new virus mutations, we must also be vigilant for a long time to come, they write.

“High vaccination coverage in the world as a whole is the best way to stop the pandemic while reducing the risk of new mutations. But we need more information about the duration of the protective effect in different age groups, including against new variants. As long as the spread of infection in the world is high, continued social measures are therefore required to manage the pandemic, ”says Gunilla Karlsson Hedestam, vaccine immunologist at Karolinska Institutet.