THE FINNISH GOVERNMENT is today expected to approve a decree enabling the commencement of vaccinations against the disease caused by the new coronavirus, Covid-19, reveals Minister of Family Affairs and Social Services Krista Kiuru (SDP).
“Once the decree has been approved, we’ll start waiting for our own batch of vaccines to arrive in Finland. We’ll then start the vaccinations on the 27th,” she stated to STT on Monday.
|
Read more: |
“We want the vaccines to be well researched and safe,” she added in the Parliament House in Helsinki.
Kiuru told that the first batch of vaccines is small, but it will be followed by steady stream of additional batches. Finnish authorities, she said, have made preparations to take delivery of the first batch late on Boxing Day – a task that is complicated by the ultra-low temperatures required during transport and storage.
“Distributing the vaccine is made more difficult by the fact that the cold-chain transport is very challenging,” she said.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) on Monday announced it has recommended granting a conditional marketing authorisation for the vaccine developed against Covid-19 by Pfizer and Biontech.
Its scientific opinion paves the way for the granting of the first market authorisation for a vaccine against the disease by the European Commission. The recommendation was issued after its human medicines committee concluded by consensus that sufficiently robust data on the quality, safety and efficacy of the vaccine is now available.
“Today’s positive news is an important step forward in our fight against this pandemic, which has caused suffering and hardships for so many,” said Emer Cooke, the executive director of EMA.
Cooke reminded that although the agency has confidence in the safety, efficacy and quality of the vaccine, its work does not stop here. “We will continue to collect and analyse data on the safety and effectiveness of this vaccine to protect people taking the vaccine in the EU.”
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
