No decision has yet been made in Finland on what to do with leftover AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine doses when everyone over the age of 65 have received shots in Finland. AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine is currently only given to those over 65 in Finland due to a very small risk of blood clots in younger people.
There is a danger that any remaining vaccines could go to waste, according to Mia Kontio, Chief Specialist at the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL). She told the Finnish news agency STT on Sunday that AstraZeneca's vaccine deliveries to Finland should be discontinued at some point.
Kontio says that the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, which is responsible for vaccine procurement, should make a decision on the matter.
According to the THL, about 60 percent of Finns over the age of 65 have received at least the first dose of vaccine. Nearly 85 percent of people over the age of 70 have had at least one jab.
Kontio says that 3.7 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine have been ordered for Finland, with about 430,000 doses delivered so far.
J&J on the way
Meanwhile, Kontio says that the first batch of single-dose Johnson & Johnson's Janssen vaccine is expected to arrive in Finland this week. Some 400,000 doses of the vaccine are expected by the end of June.
As of Sunday, more than 1.5 million people, or 27.4 percent of Finland's population, had received at least one dose of vaccine. The highest rate of inoculations is in South and East Savo, where more than 36 percent of residents have had at least a first shot.
The Helsinki and Uusimaa district, which has by far the highest infection rate, still has one of the lowest vaccination rates, 25.3 percent. The lowest rate is in North Ostrobothnia, which includes Oulu and Kuusamo. There, 23.7 percent have gotten at least a first jab
Nationwide, 2.7 percent have gotten booster shots of the vaccines that require two doses to be fully effective.
The THL says that Finland should attain herd immunity when 70 percent of the population have received at least one shot, which it predicts will occur by mid-July.