The director of the THL's Department for Health Security, Mika Salminen, received his first Covid-19 vaccination dose on Monday.
The 56-year-old Espoo resident said he was surprised that it was already his turn to get the jab, the first of two Pfizer-Biontech vaccine doses.
"I thought it might take a couple more weeks [before it was my turn], but they started vaccinating people over 55, which was a nice surprise," he said, adding that he's pleased about the progress Finland has made regarding vaccinations.
Salminen has become a familiar face in Finland since the epidemic upended regular ways of life more than a year ago, often appearing at press conferences and other public-facing situations.
However, he is not the only capital-area resident in his 50s who has received a jab — nor the last.
According to Helsinki's medical director Timo Lukkarinen, city residents between the ages of 30 - 50 are expected to receive their first vaccinations during May to June, with the possibility of the under-30 set to get jabs as soon as after Midsummer.
Meanwhile, about 90 percent of Espoo residents over the age of 70 and nearly 70 percent of the city's 65 to 69-year-old population have gotten their first jabs, according to local data.
Last week the City of Vantaa announced its vaccination queue has opened for people aged 50-54.
As of Monday, about 27.5 percent of Finland's population had received at least one coronavirus vaccine dose. At the current pace of vaccinations, Finland will achieve the so-called herd immunity threshold of 70 percent in the middle of July.