On Sunday, Finland received about 24,000 doses of AstraZeneca Covid, which started the introduction of the vaccine in the country.
Vaccines manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna are already in use in Finland, and according to THL, on Sunday afternoon, the National Institute of Public Health THL said that just over 170,000 people had received at least one shot.
THL expert Mia Kontio told Yle that approximately 200,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine are expected in Finland this month.
That’s only a third of Finland’s expected volume, but Kontio is not too worried about the slower pace of deliveries.
"In the fall, it was thought that we would not get the vaccines until the spring," Kontio said. "There has been a good supply in this regard. But once the vaccines have arrived, we obviously want them to arrive faster. However, vaccination readiness is in hospital districts and municipalities. We hope to reach a stage where there are as many doses of vaccine as we can use."
He said he was pleased that the rate of vaccination among the elderly has accelerated thanks to a policy change to avoid storing a second dose of vaccine for those who received the first dose.
This is contrary to the recommendations of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine manufacturer and the European Medicines Agency, but is in line with UK policy.
The goal to change the infection is now to get the first dose of the vaccine to as many people as possible as quickly as possible.
"Now we are at a good stage where we are only giving one dose," Kontio said. "We can give parents vaccines faster, and the first dose already provides good protection. We are able to vaccinate more elderly people than previously felt possible."
Helsingin Sanomat was the first to announce this shipment of vaccines.
Source: The Nordic Page