Finland's Covid booster rollout is progressing "calmly," according to experts interviewed by Helsingin Sanomat.
Some 2.4 percent of double-jabbed individuals have so far received a third dose offered six months after their second jab.
In Uusimaa, for example, people over 70 started getting their second shots in May, making them eligible for a third dose this month.
Public health institute THL currently recommends top-up shots for people over 60, those living in care homes and people in medical high-risk groups. Third shots are also available to immunocompromised individuals as well as those who received their two doses less than six weeks apart.
While Finland has reached 80 percent double-dose vaccination coverage for those aged 12 and over, the country is seeing increasing case counts, higher test positivity and greater strain on hospitals and healthcare providers—just as the run-up to Christmas prompts greater social mixing and therefore possible exposures to Covid.
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Winter's coming
Finland has been experiencing unseasonably mild weather this month, with the mercury reaching 10C in southern areas, but Iltalehti reports that will soon change.
Foreca meteorologist Markus Mäntykannas said November's monthly forecast suggests a sudden change in the weather.
"The forecast suggests November will be quite cold—an early winter is possible across the European continent," he explained.
Mäntykannas urged motorists in southern Finland to switch to winter tyres as soon as possible.
"This year there's a chance of snowfall in the south very early on, with snow storms possible in November."
Sleeping on a table
A Finnish tablebed has earned a special mention on Time Magazine's list of the 100 best inventions of the year, according to Hufvudstadsbladet.
Tablebed is a six-person dinner table that doubles up as a bed—an invention Time called a space saver for the work-from-home era.
Inventor Dine Renfors said the idea arose from the realisation that his bed and table used more space than any other furniture in his two-room apartment.