Pfizer’s announcement of a temporary reduction in Covid vaccine deliveries in Europe will slow the pace of coronavirus vaccination in Finland. On Friday, the pharmaceutical maker said it would limit production while improving production capacity.
According to the National Institute of Public Health’s THL, according to the news, Finland would receive 10,000 fewer doses next week than expected.
"We need more vaccines to keep up the pace of vaccination," Chief Medical Officer of THL Hanna Nohynek told the news agency STT.
The Helsinki Hospital District (HUS) plans to start issuing Pfizer effect images on Monday, according to STT.
"From next week, boosters will reduce the number of new vaccines available to humans," said Kerstin Carlsson, Director of HUS Pharmacy in Helsinki Hospital District HUS.
Prior to Pfizer’s announcement on Friday, Finland had expected to receive about 50,000 doses a week until the end of February.
According to Nohynek, it was difficult to assess how Pfizer’s delays would affect Finland’s Covid vaccination plans. However, he said that Finland could have two scenarios.
"Either we reduce the number of people who receive the first dose or delay the booster dose. The vaccine deficiency does not have to be three weeks," Nohynek explained.
Finland launched the Pfizer / BioNTech Covid vaccine for healthcare workers on 27 December. The manufacturer recommends a dose difference of three or four weeks.
Minimal Moderna
Finland will also start administering the modern Koronavirus vaccine on Monday. According to THL, the first 5,000 doses were directed to hard-to-reach areas in rural Lapland, creating logistical barriers to the Pfizer vaccine, which requires a -70 ยฐ C cold chain. The modern vaccine can be stored at -20 ยฐ C.
Like the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine, the Moderna vaccine also requires two shots. THL expects to receive another 5,000 doses from Moderna within two weeks.
In the meantime, EU countries expect Oxford-AstraZeneca to be approved by European regulators at the end of January.
About 50,000 people in Finland have so far received Pfizer’s Covid vaccine, according to THL.
Source: The Nordic Page