The Swedish county of Kalmar has started charging lost costs to those who refuse to take the AstraZeneca vaccine when they turn up to their appointments.
Residents who refused the vaccine in the southern Swedish county out of concern about potential side-effects — widely discussed in the European mainstream media and by European governments in recent weeks — say they were charged 200 Swedish kronor (£17/$24) each when they refused to accept the AstraZeneca shot at the time of their scheduled vaccination appointment.
One couple who refused the vaccine earlier this month received a letter invoicing them for the appointment costs and have since filed a complaint with the Ombudsman for Justice (JO) over the matter, broadcaster SVT reports.
One of the complainants noted that he and his partner had risked exposing themselves to the Wuhan coronavirus by going to the health facility and would not have gone if they knew which vaccine they would be offered before the appointment.
“If I go to the store to buy pork but only get offered bananas, I should not be invoiced for the item I did not go there to buy — i.e., the item I never bought” the man stated in his report, claiming that the county deliberately withheld the brand of the vaccine it would be giving on any given day from the public.
Earlier this month, Marie Ragnarsson, vaccine coordinator in Kalmar County, noted that people would not be told which vaccine they are having prior to their appointments because accurate details could not always be given, as from day to day, deliveries may contain different brands of vaccines.
World leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, have taken the AstraZeneca vaccine, while some European governments became critical of potential side effects of the vaccine and halted its rollout.
The prime minister of Sweden, Stefan Lofven, however, was revealed to have taken the Pfizer vaccine this week but stated: “I would have been happy with whatever vaccine I had been offered. As long as the authorities have recommended it.”