The coronavirus vaccinations are progressing in Helsinki as fast as vaccine is received. The vaccinations of people turning at least 80 this year and their informal carers are continuing. The City of Helsinki will call all people aged 80 and older who have not booked a vaccination appointment.
Persons aged 80 and older will receive a call from the number 09 310 10020. The calls will be initiated by the employees of the culture and leisure division.
At the moment 83 per cent of people aged 85 and older have received their first vaccine shot. The proportion of vaccinated 80-84-year-olds is slightly above one third (36 per cent).
The vaccinations of persons aged 75–79 are estimated to start in week 10 and those of persons aged 70–74 in week 12. Elderly residents are being vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine. Elderly people who are exposed to severe COVID-19 due to an illness will be vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine according to the national recommendations as soon as it is their turn.
The vaccinations of 65-69-year-olds with an illness or condition placing them at extremely high risk of severe COVID-19 were started on Monday this week. As of next Monday, coronavirus vaccination appointments can be booked by people aged 55-64 with an illness or condition placing them at very high risk of severe COVID-19. They will be given the AstraZeneca vaccine that is recommended to people under 70.
Healthcare and social services personnel performing coronavirus-related work will also continue to be vaccinated. The vaccinations at elderly care homes have already been completed. 95 per cent of the elderly care home residents decided to get vaccinated. Regarding care services, the vaccinations have been continued with the 24-hours care clients of disability and mental health services.
At the moment the City of Helsinki uses two different vaccines. The Pfizer vaccine is given to people turning 70 and older. The AstraZeneca vaccine is given to people under 70. Next week there will be a total of 12,000 vaccine shots in Helsinki, with about 7,000 of them from Pfizer and ca. 5,000 from AstraZeneca.
Further information on the vaccinations is available at coronavaccination-en.hel.fi.
Picture Marja Väänänen
News corrected 22 February regarding the amounts of vaccinations.