Vaccination in most affected regions to be prioritised

The government on Friday amended the decree on voluntary COVID-19 vaccinations with the provision for giving priority to the regions affected seriously by the coronavirus outbreak on the epidemiological grounds.

The decree will enter into force on 19 April and the targeted allocation of vaccines to regions will be temporary and remain in force until 31 May, said the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health in a press release.

In future, vaccine doses can be distributed in a targeted manner on the basis of uniform epidemiological grounds that are defined in a transparent manner. The principles of targeting set out in the decree take account of the availability of vaccines in Finland and any logistic challenges related to them. The decree will ensure that all regions receive vaccines.

In the future, the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) should allocate the batches of the Moderna vaccine and one-third of the batches of AstraZeneca vaccine arriving in Finland to those hospital districts where at least 100 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants have been reported in the 14 days preceding the distribution of vaccine batches.

Vaccines will be allocated to these hospital districts based not only on the number of people in the hospital district but also on the number of COVID-19 cases in the previous 14 days and the number of patients in specialised healthcare in the previous 14 days with equal weight given to all three factors.

Targeted allocation will only be possible if all people over 70 years of age and all those belonging to risk groups in the region have had the opportunity to receive their first dose of the vaccine. In addition, targeted allocation must not prevent a person from receiving their second dose of the vaccine that is necessary to achieve vaccination coverage or delay their second dose.

The amendment to the decree will also allow vaccine injections to be administered by dentists. In addition, persons studying to be healthcare professionals (doctors, dentists, nurses, public health nurses or midwives) will also be authorised to administer vaccines under the guidance and supervision of a professional.