Finland's policy on Covid booster shots restricts access to those in one risk group or another, with priority given to those aged over 75 or with severely compromised immune systems.
Ilta-Sanomat reports on Tuesday that this line is not universally popular among doctors and researchers. Markku Broas, an infectious diseases doctor in Lapland, says this line is overly casual.
"In Finland there's a dismissive attitude towards Covid prevention," said Broas.
Researcher Lotta Oksanen from Helsinki University says that she would prefer Finland's health agency THL pursue a policy closer to that of the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in the United States, which recommends that anyone aged over six months should get a booster shot every twelve months.
"In my opinion the THL line is a bit strange," said Oksanen. "Why do they treat this so differently to how it is treated in the rest of the world?"
THL vaccine expert Hanna Nohynek said that Finland's policies are in line with WHO recommendations. Nohynek herself chairs the WHO's Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) Working Group for Covid-19 vaccines.
"The US is one of the few countries in the world that currently recommends booster shots from six months up," said Nohynek.
UMK in Tampere
Iltalehti reports that Yle's New Music Competition (UMK) will be held in Tampere once again next year. The event is Finland's Eurovision heat, and in 2024 it took place at a sold-out Nokia Arena.
The event will take place on 8 February, and Yle plans a week of events leading up to the competition itself.
The competitors will be unveiled in early January, with the songs themselves following at a rate of one per day.
The Eurovision competition itself takes place in Basel, Switzerland in May.
Kuopio reflector tree
Tuesday marks National Reflector Day, as the autumnal darkness draws in across Finland.
The reflective strips are an integral part of winter attire in Finland, helping ensure that pedestrians are seen by motorists even as light from the sun is a rare treat during the shorter days.
Savon Sanomat reports on one way road safety advocates look to promote the shiny visibility markers: the reflector tree.
This is a tree in a prominent position where people can pick up reflectors for free, or leave their own surplus reflectors for others to collect.
In Kuopio the tree will be located in the western part of Hapelähteenpuisto, and will be a source of reflectors until February 2025.
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