A final decision on whether or not to direct greater supplies of coronavirus vaccines to areas with higher rates of infection would be taken later this week, according to the director of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health (STM).
Meanwhile an expert from the Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) told Yle that the Helsinki and Uusimaa hospital district could receive twice its current quota of vaccines if the change were to go ahead.
Speaking to Yle A-Studio on Monday night, STM's director, Jari Keinänen, said the ministry was making preparations for a change in policy.
"We will assess whether it is possible to proceed on the basis of THL's guidance and the current legislation, or whether the government's decree on vaccinations should be changed to take this forward," he said.
According to Keinänen, officials would prefer to avoid having to make changes to the current vaccine legislation. The ministry will find out this week if such changes are necessary, he said.
"If there is demand and the government moves forward on the basis of the current decree, then we will begin transportation [of the vaccines] as soon as possible," he told A-Studio.
Change would mean boost for capital area
While governing parties the SDP, Greens and SPP have backed the change, experts from THL have been more cautious.
Speaking to Yle, THL expert Mia Kontio said the organisation's reticence was based on legal considerations, as well as feedback from hospital districts around the country.
"The opinions of the hospital districts, which were for the most part slightly negative, influenced the position," Kontio said. "Other questions of fairness had to be taken into account, as well as the issue of whether it was possible legally," she added.
Kontio also told Yle that any change would strongly benefit the Helsinki and Uusimaa hospital district (HUS), a region which has regularly seen the highest infection rates in the country.
Regions oppose vaccine prioritisation
Chief Medical Officer Juha Paloneva from the Central Finland Hospital District said that the plan amounted to "a war on the Finnish concept of equality."
"Changing the allocation criteria does not address the root cause of the epidemic in certain areas. Not enough people have followed isolation guidance and infection tracing is lagging behind," he said.
Paloneva also argued that delays caused by sending vaccines to worse-affected areas might not be an efficient use of resources, as the state of the pandemic varies rapidly from week to week.