A health care professional administered a dose of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine in Helsinki in January 2022. Political debate over how widely booster doses should be offered this autumn and winter has continued in Finland, with Prime Minister Sanna Marin (SDP) on Sunday voicing her bafflement at what she viewed was a unique approach to the vaccinations. (Jussi Nukari – Lehtikuva)

PRIME MINISTER Sanna Marin (SDP) has expressed her bafflement with the approach taken to booster vaccinations against Covid-19 in Finland.

“I find it hard to understand what’s the problem with vaccinations given that we have vaccines and we’re even ready to get more of them,” she stated during her regular interview on YLE Radio Suomi on Sunday. “I’m all for giving the shot to everyone who wants it.”

Morning traffic in Helsinki in April 2020. Road traffic accidents left six dead in Finland between Saturday and Sunday. (Emmi Korhonen – Lehtikuva)

SIX PEOPLE lost their lives last weekend in road traffic accidents in Finland.

Southeast Finland Police Department on Sunday reported that one person died in a collision of a camper van and passenger car in the early hours of the day in Kouvola, Kymenlaakso. The vehicles are believed to have been travelling in the same direction as the passenger car crashed into the rear of the camper van, causing both vehicles to drift off the road and catch fire.

Entry Saaret, boardwalk

The entry Saaret by the Konsortium Gran team won the international quality and concept competition to develop the Makasiiniranta area in Helsinki's South Harbour. The jury found that the winning entry is creditable in terms of cityscape and architecture and that it is a balanced extension to Helsinki's maritime downtown area.

In May 2021, the City of Helsinki launched a competition to find a partner to develop the Makasiiniranta area in the South Harbour. The area will be developed as part of the pedestrian city centre and the seaside trail around the shores of Helsinki, and as a location for the new Architecture and Design Museum.

In January, it will once again be possible to sense the international travel atmosphere and experiences, receive concrete offers and tips and interview experts from more than 60 countries face- to-face. After years of waiting, the fair is expected to be extremely busy. The Travel Fair will take place on 20-22 January 2023 (Matka Trade Day on 19 January).

Northern Europe's largest travel event, Matka Nordic Travel Fair, will be arranged after a three-year pause. After the pandemic, travelling has once again commenced rapidly and the travel fair is expected to raise the travel fever of the public to an unprecedentedly high level.

LEHTIKUVA

Parliament has passed an act concerning temporary financial assistance with electricity costs. The purpose of the assistance is to help low-income households pay their electricity bills at a time of sharply rising electricity prices.

An Act of Parliament on temporary assistance with electricity costs will come into force on 1 January 2023. The assistance is intended for households that are unable to take full advantage of the tax credit for electricity due to their low annual income.

Photo: Andrey Popov, Mostphotos

A recent doctoral dissertation examined the background of imaging incidents that endangered patient safety. According to the dissertation, adverse events related to diagnosis could be prevented by means of, for example, more detailed follow-up examinations. Communication between the medical staff and the patient, on the other hand, ensures that the patient has a realistic understanding of their disease and the progress of the treatment.

Photo: HUS Helsinki University Hospital.

The EU has awarded 7 MEUR to HUS Helsinki University Hospital led Consortium, which aims to unlock the full potential of real-world data collected in European cancer hospitals. This in turn will support the implementation of safer, more efficient, and personalized novel cancer therapies.

“To implement value-based cancer care, real-world data on the cost-effectiveness of treatments is needed in real-time”, states the project lead, senior medical director in oncology, Johanna Mattson.

Photo: The Finnish Parliament

Parliament has approved a bill on paying child benefit at double the normal rate for December 2022. For families who also receive social assistance, the extra child benefit does not count against their social assistance.

Temporary amendments will be made to the Child Benefit Act and the Act on Social Assistance. The goal of the amendments is to strengthen the purchasing power of families with children at a time of rising prices.

Bitcoin’s logo on a smartphone screen in Helsinki in October 2020. The recent instability in the cryptocurrency market, which has seen the collapse of one of the most reputable exchanges, seems to have spread to Finland, writes Helsingin Sanomat. (Jussi Nukari – Lehtikuva)

THE TURMOIL in the cryptocurrency market appears to have spread to Finnish companies, reports Helsingin Sanomat.

Coinmotion, the leading cryptocurrency investor in Finland, announced earlier this week it has disabled the cryptocurrency interest account service provided by Tesseract. Its customers can therefore no longer make new deposits to the service, but they can continue to request withdrawals from the service to Coinmotion.

The Christmas season is a busy time for parcel deliveries. This week, Posti is starting Saturday parcel deliveries and opening temporary pickup points across Finland to help parcels reach their destination smoothly.

“We delivered around 7.4 million parcels during last year’s peak season. This year our estimates are more modest due to the global situation, but the parcel volumes will still be high. We will do everything in our power to ensure smooth deliveries and Christmas spirit,” says Tommi Kässi, Posti’s Vice President for eCommerce and Delivery Services.