Finland is amending the vaccine guidelines to allow hospitals to use all vaccines entering the country instead of saving for other doses.
Half of the vaccines arriving in Finland no longer need to be saved for those who have already been vaccinated for the second dose. Instead, the goal is to get as many people as possible vaccinated with the first dose while relying on future deliveries of the second doses.
To date, half of the vaccine doses delivered have been stored so that each patient receives a dose.
"According to an efficacy study published by BioNtech-Pfizer, the protective effect of the vaccine is already more than 50% two weeks after the first dose, and in some cases almost 90%," said Hanna Nohynek, Senior Physician at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL).
"This suggests that even after the first dose for at least three weeks, possibly six weeks, the effect is very good," he added.
However, for the vaccine to have long-lasting effects, a second dose will be needed in the future.
"According to the marketing authorization, the second dose will be given at the earliest after three weeks and at the latest after 42 days," Nohynek stated.
Initially enthusiastic about the introduction of vaccines, the slow pace of vaccinations has become a concern.
Earlier this week, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and the Ministry of Health and Welfare estimated that it would take at least the end of the year to vaccinate the entire Finnish population against the coronavirus.
The initial bottleneck is mainly due to the fact that the number of vaccines received in Finland is lower than expected. Vaccines in the EU are distributed based on the population of the countries.
Finland expected 100,000 to 300,000 doses to be delivered to the country during Christmas, but only 10,000 doses arrived in the first batch.
"We have recommended hospital districts to get as many people as possible vaccinated as soon as possible. Therefore, all doses of coronavirus vaccine arriving in Finland should be given as soon as possible. [This means] Whereas the rate of vaccination will increase if all incoming vaccines can be used instead of being stored away;" Nohynek stated.
"We are confident that we will receive additional doses on a weekly basis, allowing for a second dose to be given later."
Source: The Nordic Page