Coronavirus Hus to start offering fourth dose of vaccine in line with THL’s new recommendations – Husin Ruotsalainen: Expansion was more limited than expected

Health and Welfare (THL) slightly expanded its recommendation for a fourth dose of coronary vaccine on Thursday.

Until now, the fourth dose had been recommended for the elderly over 80 years of age, for elderly people living in care homes and for those over 12 years of age who were severely immunocompromised.

THL now recommends that municipalities also provide a fourth dose of the vaccine to those who are in home or family care and to those who live at home with reduced health and functioning.

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Helsinki and Uusimaa Hospital District (Hus) to start implementing THL’s updated recommendation for the fourth dose of vaccine, says Hus’s deputy chief physician Eeva Swedish. The practical implementation will be discussed among the municipalities from the beginning of the week.

According to the Swede, the municipalities have been on standby for a long time. The modification of the vaccination appointment system will take a few days, but according to the Swede, vaccination of home care patients can be started quickly.

The Swede says that the municipalities will later explain in more detail on their websites how the extension of vaccine doses will be implemented in practice.

Swedish says the extension of the vaccination recommendation was more limited than expected.

“We had anticipated that a fourth vaccination would be recommended for everyone over the age of 70, but now other restrictive definitions have been added, such as health status and care arrangements.”

The Swede hopes that the recommendation will be as clear as possible, for example with regard to the definition of aging. He says it is hoped that THL’s guidance will not be a threshold for anyone to take a fourth dose of the vaccine.

“Vaccination points need to have discretion to get the vaccine. It is impossible to determine on the spot who meets certain functional criteria or which underlying disease is being calculated. ”

However, the Swede is pleased that the fourth vaccination is now also recommended for those in home care. Residents of care facilities, regardless of age, have been offered the fourth vaccination since the end of March.

“This decision was important for equality, because we also have people with disabilities and sickness in various service housing and home care.”

Elsewhere According to a Swede, there has been a trend in Europe in recent weeks in which age recommendations for the fourth vaccination have been reduced to those over 60 years of age.

“Finland is also still experiencing an epidemic and the virus is high among the population, although the situation is gradually improving. It is now hoped that new, for example, new micron variants will not be available in the summer, as was the case with Delta last year. ”