Many people across the country say they have had great difficulty making appointments for coronavirus vaccinations. Long expectations get into booking numbers and confusing practices vary by municipality.
A survey of Yle by 18 municipalities found that the problem had been widespread, and became particularly apparent in early February, when the introduction of vaccinations expanded beyond nursing homes and moved to health centers for appointments.
Some municipalities did not have sufficient staff to answer calls or there was no separate number for reservations. There have also been technical problems with telephone booking systems, which has led to the queuing of hundreds of calls.
In addition, attempts by people trying to set aside time who are not yet eligible for robbery are a burden on resources.
Long phone queues may continue in the near future. On Monday, the local vaccination booking line in Hämeenlinna was so congested that the service had to be suspended. Similarly, last week in Jyväskylä, the service was temporarily suspended for the same reason.
The main cause of the problems has been and still is the availability of vaccines.
Time pressures
Healthcare personnel are usually notified of the delivery of a new batch at almost the last minute. As a result, procedures and communications need to be monitored quickly.
"As the size and arrival time of vaccine batches are uncertain and confirmed only the day before, communication is a very big challenge, especially for the elderly, as the elderly do not often use the Internet," points out Laura Saurama, Chief Financial Officer of the City of Turku.
Municipalities publish information on vaccination schedules on their own websites or on the websites of municipal associations, in local newspapers and other local media, and on social media. Also in the Jyväskylä region, for example, telephone text messages are also sent to people in the vaccination program.
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If a few hundred doses of vaccine arrive in a locality and there are thousands of people in the age groups or risk groups to be vaccinated in the area, there are, of course, not enough appointments for everyone who wants one.
"In addition, the risk group 1 for THL under the age of 70 is considerably high, although few vaccines are reserved for this group," says Tapani Strander, Chief Coronavirus Vaccine Chief in Pori.
Variation in nomination practices
Vaccination times cannot be booked on behalf of a relative throughout Finland. In contrast, in many municipalities, it is also possible to make an appointment for an elderly person without an official permit or a valid identity card.
For example, in the Pori region, an appointment can be made on behalf of a relative if the person making the reservation is marked as a contact person in the patient data.
There are also differences in making online bookings. This depends not only on the technical characteristics of the site, but also on whether patients are examined solely on the basis of age or also on the basis of risk group.
Most municipalities urge the public to use online bookings as a first option.
Screening is another bottleneck. In some municipalities, if someone who makes an online booking belongs to both an acceptable age group and an acceptable risk group, the nurse will confirm the follow-up call to confirm the information. Some other municipalities require confirmation of the status of the risk group when booking online.
More staff, better information
According to Yle’s survey, the local government has hired more staff to process bookings and introduced more booking contact information. However, this has not been enough to solve the problems in all cases.
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Some municipalities have introduced a call request to arrange appointments. A call request is usually answered within a few days. These services are also congested from time to time.
From the beginning, some local authorities have called on the elderly to be vaccinated by letter or phone call to facilitate telephone queues.
Understandable criticism
Tarja MyllärinenThe head of the social and health unit of the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities acknowledges the criticism of the slow pace of vaccinations, but points out that the process currently affects hard-to-reach age groups.
"They need to be addressed one at a time. The timetable for the introduction of vaccinations specifies that this group must be reached first," he points out.
Myllärinen adds that he understands that the situation is stressful for everyone and provokes various reactions. This is also reflected in the discussion on a possible change in the order of eligibility for vaccination.