THE MINISTRY of Social Affairs and Health says Finland has already begun preparing to commence a third round of vaccinations against the new coronavirus at the turn of the year, if the second booster injection is deemed necessary by experts, reports YLE.
The vaccinations would again begin with people who are at heightened risk of developing serious symptoms from an infection due to old age or underlying health conditions.
Taneli Puumalainen, the director of health and security at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, on Sunday reminded the public broadcasting company that there is no need to rush with the possible third round of vaccinations as the vaccines presently appear to be retaining their efficacy well. The need to boost the efficacy and the effects of vaccinations at a population-wide scale are monitored closely by, for example, the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL).
“There are currently no indications of the efficacy decreasing. If the monitoring shows that it’s necessary to administer booster shots, then we’ll take action accordingly.”
Finland, along with the rest of the European Union, has already begin preparing for the eventuality that the vaccination campaign will continue beyond the second injection.
“There’ll be enough doses for third and, if necessary, fourth injections at the end of the year, next year and also the year after that,” assured Puumalainen.
He underlined that the country is presently focused on vaccinating as high a percentage of the population at least twice, thereby protecting the entire population against the virus as well as possible.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
