MSAH and THL informs
Nearly 70 per cent of people aged 12 or over have been vaccinated twice

Ministry of Social Affairs and Health

30.9.2021 10.00 | Published in English on 30.9.2021 at 13.39

Press release 282

In Finland, 83.8 per cent of the target population for COVID-19 vaccination, i.e. people who are 12 years of age or over, have received at least their first vaccine dose, and 69.7 per cent also their second vaccine dose. Between 22 and 29 September, the uptake of the first vaccine dose grew by 0.4 percentage points and the uptake of the second dose by 2.5 percentage points.

More than 86 per cent of people aged over 60 have already received two vaccine doses. Among people aged between 50 and 59, the uptake is over 82 per cent and, among people aged between 40 and 49, over 74 per cent. Over the past week, the uptake of the first vaccine dose has grown the most among people aged 12–15 (1.2 percentage points, up from 66.5 per cent to 67.7 per cent) and the uptake of the second dose the most among people aged 16–19 (7.8 percentage points, up from 30.3 per cent to 38.1 per cent).

On 26 September, there were 81 inpatients in specialised healthcare, and 25 of them were inpatients in intensive care. On 29 September, the total number of COVID-19-related deaths reported to the communicable diseases register was 1,072.

Majority of patients in specialised healthcare are unvaccinated

Over the past few weeks, unvaccinated people have received specialised healthcare due to COVID-19 more often than in spring 2020. This is primarily due to the fact that the incidence of cases has now been higher among unvaccinated people. Over the last two-week period, unvaccinated people between the ages of 20 to 79 who have COVID-19 have received hospital care at least 17 times more often than those in the same age group who have been vaccinated twice. One vaccine dose alone has provided good protection against the more serious forms of the disease that require hospital care.

The fall in the number of cases seen over several consecutive weeks has now stopped. The burden on hospital care has varied slightly from week to week but, as a whole, it has remained at the same level. However, the COVID-19 epidemic continues to place a considerable burden particularly on intensive care units. Majority of those requiring hospital care are unvaccinated. The number of new patients requiring hospital care is expected to increase slightly, and in order for the need for hospital care to reduce, the vaccine uptake would have to increase and the number of new cases fall substantially.

Large regional clusters of COVID-19 are reported particularly among young people, which are linked, for example, to student gatherings The incidence of new cases over the last two-week period (13–26 September) was 102 per 100,000 inhabitants. This is 20 per cent less than in the preceding two-week period when the incidence of cases was 127 per 100,000 inhabitants. The total number of new cases reported between 20 and 26 August was 2,855, whereas a week before the number of new cases was 2,789.

The epidemiological situation is monitored weekly. The monitoring report of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare is published on the Institute’s website: Monitoring reports on the hybrid strategy.

As of Thursday 30 September, the focus of the situation update on coronavirus will shift from the number of COVID-19 cases to vaccine coverage and the monitoring of the number of serious COVID-19 cases.

From this week onwards, the update will be published on the website of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare on Thursday afternoons.

Inquiries:

Mia Kontio, Chief Specialist, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, firstname.lastname@thl.fi
Pasi Pohjola, Director, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, firstname.lastname@gov.fi
Mika Salminen, Director, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, firstname.lastname@thl.fi
Otto Helve, Chief Physician, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, firstname.lastname@thl.fi

MSAH and THL informs Nearly 70 per cent of people aged 12 or over have been vaccinated twice

Majority of patients in specialised healthcare are unvaccinated

Inquiries:

MSAH and THL informs
Nearly 70 per cent of people aged 12 or over have been vaccinated twice