Helsinki begins rollout of COVID-19, influenza vaccines

Helsinki is offering COVID-19 and influenza vaccinations free of charge to people belonging to the risk groups set out in the recommendations of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), said the City of Helsinki in a press release on Thursday.

The vaccination roll-out will follow a staggered schedule based on priority groups.

Vaccines will start being administered on 17 September, when people aged 80 and older as well as people with severe immune insufficiency will start receiving their COVID-19 vaccines.

During the first two days of the vaccine rollout, more than 20% of people belonging to the eligible priority risk groups were able to book their vaccination appointments.

Appointment times are widely available to everyone who wants them, despite the queues that were formed in the telephone booking service during the first days of operation.

People can book a vaccination appointment by calling the telephone booking service at +358 9 310 46300, open from Monday to Friday at 8.00–16.00.

The telephone service, however, does not have a callback service.

People aged 80 and over can also book their appointments using the Maisa client portal, where they will have been granted their own personal scheduling permit for making an appointment.

In Maisa, as many as 6,000 appointments have already been successfully booked by Helsinki residents during the first days of the vaccine rollout.