The Public Health Authority THL and the National Vaccine Expert Group (Krar) will announce this week whether they are recommending that the second Covid booster vaccine be extended to younger adults.
Currently, the fourth dose of the vaccine has only been given to people over the age of 80 who live in nursing homes and are severely immunocompromised.
Finnish health authorities are currently assessing which age groups would benefit most from the additional effects. The optimal time frames for the fourth dose are also being considered Hanna NohyChief Physician of the Department of Health and Welfare (THL) and Director of the Vaccine Program.
Covid figures now show that the coronavirus epidemic in Finland is fading as a result of the upswing earlier this year – a phenomenon that was also experienced in Finland last year, according to Nohynek.
"The numbers now look very good. We’ve been down for several weeks, so the trend is getting better," he told Yle.
There were 802 Covid patients in Finnish hospitals on Monday, which is an increase of 43 on Friday, THL says.
Sweden expands second booster
EU countries have not synchronized the fourth dose policy. So far, about 10 European countries have a second booster illuminated in green.
At the beginning of last month, Sweden recommended a fourth dose for everyone over the age of 65, and vaccines are also available for immunocompromised people.
"A slightly different vaccination schedule has been used in Finland, with two initial vaccinations farther away than in many other countries, such as Sweden." Nohynek said, explaining that countries ’vaccination schedules were not directly comparable.
Denmark, meanwhile, has said it will hold its fourth dose until the autumn, possibly with a new wave of Covid. Belgium, Latvia, Luxembourg and the Czech Republic have taken similar decisions.
Nohynek said it is likely that the second effect will be more effective as the epidemic accelerates rather than fades, as the vaccine’s effectiveness will decline a few months after the injection.
In Finland, about 51 per cent of people over the age of 80 have received their fourth dose since the end of March. Nohynek said it is too early to say what effect the second effect has had on the hospital’s figures.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) have said that it is too early to decide on other medicines for the general public.
Nohynek said that new vaccines tailored to certain variants of the coronavirus may be available in Finland by the end of the summer, but added that "we do not yet know what this customized vaccine will look like because it is not yet available".
You can participate in the discussion in the comments. You need the Yle ID to participate in the discussion, register here. Comments are open every weekday from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with a trial version of May 13. until.