From now on, the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine will also be given to people over the age of 70 in Finland. The decision was made on Wednesday by the National Advisory Committee on Vaccines (KRAR), which operates under the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL).
"Research data from Scotland and England in recent weeks shows that the AstraZeneca vaccine provides as strong protection in the elderly after the first dose as the Biontech-Pfizer mRNA vaccine. Therefore, there is no longer a medical reason for maintaining the upper age limit," said the committee chair, Professor Ville Peltola, in a THL press release.
So far, AstraZeneca has only been administered to people under the age of 70 in Finland. The elderly have received the Pfizer-Biontech vaccine.
For practical reasons, KRAR recommends that vaccination of those over 70 years of age should continue primarily with the Pfizer vaccine. Many older people have already received a single injection of it, and the second jab must always be the same as the first. In any case, the Pfizer vaccine is now more widely available than AstraZeneca.
KRAR originally set an age limit of 70 years because there was insufficient research data on the effectiveness of the vaccine in the elderly.
Municipalities may reorganise vaccinations
Mia Kontio, Director of Pharmaceutical Wholesale at the THL, says that the aim is for municipalities to be able to plan vaccinations as far in advance as possible, so that appointments can be made for second vaccine doses as soon as possible.
"However, waiving the upper age limit will allow municipalities to reorganise vaccinations if, in their assessment, it would speed up vaccinations for the elderly and can be implemented smoothly in terms of appointments and other arrangements," said Kontio.
Health authorities expect that those over the age of 70 should receive at least their first dose of vaccine by the end of April. Corona vaccinations have sped up in recent weeks as more doses have been delivered, and the pace is expected to accelerate as spring progresses.
9.3% have received at least first jab
As of Wednesday, 515,218 people in Finland had received at least the first dose of a coronavirus vaccine. That is about 9.3 percent of the population.
So far 85,020 people, or 1.5 percent of the population, have received both doses of vaccine.
More than two thirds of people over the age of 80 have received at least one jab, for a total of 215,383 senior citizens.
According to the THL, the minimum level of vaccination for herd immunity is about 70 percent. It estimates that at current vaccination rates, this will be achieved by around 29 October 2021.
The vaccination rate could speed up considerably if the European Medicines Agency (EMA) approves the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine on Thursday as expected.