Helsinki vaccinating risk group aged 16-17

The City of Helsinki has started the process of vaccinating the people aged 16 to 17, who have an illness or condition that places them at extremely high risk of contacting severe COVID-19.

Online booking for the vaccination appointment has already started on Monday afternoon while booking over telephone started on Tuesday, said the City of Helsinki in a press release on Tuesday.

The appointments can be made online at coronavaccination-en.hel.fi or making phone call to 09 310 46300 on weekdays from 8:00–18:00 hours.

The appointment booking line uses a call-back service that records all calls, and all unanswered calls are returned.

As of Wednesday, all Helsinki residents aged 16 to 17 and have an illness or condition that makes them very susceptible to severe forms of COVID-19, can make an appointment for vaccination.

Illnesses or conditions that can result in very high susceptibility to severe COVID-19 are: organ transplant or stem cell transplant, actively treated cancer disease, severe immunological disorder, severe chronic nephropathy, severe chronic pulmonary disease, drug-treated type 2 diabetes, and Down syndrome.

The 16-17-year-old people who belong to a risk group due to an illness will receive the Pfizer vaccine, for which the sales permit covers persons aged 16 and above.

The 18–69-year-old people belonging to the same risk group will receive the AstraZeneca vaccine. The sales permit for the AstraZeneca vaccine includes persons aged 18 and above.

In other words, those who have turned 18 at the time of vaccination are eligible recipients of the AstraZeneca vaccine.