Who belong to the target groups for COVID-19 vaccinations in autumn 2025?
The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) has updated its recommendations for COVID-19 vaccination since last year. The target groups for COVID-19 vaccinations in autumn 2025 are the following:
- Older people living in care homes or receiving regular home care, as well as older people receiving informal care
- Everyone aged 75 and over
- Severely immunocompromised people of all ages
- People aged 18 and over with two or more underlying medical conditions that increase the risk of severe COVID-19 disease. Read about the risk groups for severe COVID-19 disease on the THL website: Risk groups for severe COVID-19 disease – THL(Link leads to external service) (in Finnish)
The target groups for COVID-19 vaccinations are based on the recommendations of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare. COVID-19 vaccines – THL(Link leads to external service)
Vaccinations in institutions, home care, maternity clinics, and school and student health care
Hospitals, senior centres, service homes and home care services, as well as maternity clinics, schools and educational institutions in Helsinki, are responsible for vaccinating their own clients.
- Hospital wards, senior centres and service homes in Helsinki administer vaccinations to their own clients.
- Clients receiving home care and their informal carers who fall within the vaccination recommendations will receive the vaccine through home care services.
- Home care services will contact eligible clients to arrange the vaccinations, including clients receiving outsourced home care services.
- This group will receive their vaccinations in October–November 2025.
- Vaccinations for maternity and child health clinic clients in the target groups will be organised centrally at the Ruoholahti maternity and child health clinic .
- Appointments can be booked through the clinic’s telephone service from 8 October onwards, tel. +358 9 310 55530(Link starts a phone call) , Mon–Fri 8.00–14.00.
- From 20 October onwards, those eligible for the COVID-19 vaccination can enquire about an appointment from the nurse at their own educational institution or from the Centralised Unit of Student Health Care, tel. + 358 40 662 4166(Link starts a phone call) .
- Schoolchildren eligible for the COVID-19 vaccination will be vaccinated at the Ruoholahti Maternity and Child Health Clinic.
- For more information, please contact the school nurse at your own school.
FAQ – Frequently asked questions about COVID-19 vaccinations
The COVID-19 vaccine protects especially those who are most at risk of becoming seriously ill. Vaccination reduces the risk of hospitalisation and death.
We administer COVID-19 vaccines at health stations to people who belong to the target group for COVID-19 vaccinations.
Clients of maternity and child health clinics belonging to the target group for COVID-19 vaccinations can get vaccinated at the Ruoholahti Centralised Maternity and Child Health Clinic Service.
The Ruoholahti Centralised Maternity and Child Health Clinic Service also vaccinates schoolchildren belonging to the target group for COVID-19 vaccinations.
The Centralised Unit of Student Health Care administers COVID-19 vaccines to students by appointment.
Hospital wards, senior centres, service homes and home care services in Helsinki vaccinate their own clients.
We are using Comirnaty vaccines for different age groups. For more information on the composition of the vaccines in Finnish, please visit the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare website(Link leads to external service) .
We will administer vaccines in stages between 30 September and 14 November 2025.
We will vaccinate
- people over the age of 75 from 30 September to 10 October
- people between 65 and 74 years of age from 13 October to 24 October
- people under the age of 65 from 27 October to 14 November.
If you belong to a target group, please book your vaccination appointment primarily during the weeks allocated for your age group.
We recommend that you primarily get your COVID-19 vaccine during the weeks designated for your age group. If you are unable to get vaccinated during the weeks designated for your age group, you can book an appointment for a later date after those weeks, until 14 November.
The booking of vaccination appointments for people aged 65 and over will open on 16 September in Maisa and on 17 September by phone. Appointment booking for people under 65 and clients of maternity and child health clinics will open in Maisa on 8 October.
If you are going to a health station to be vaccinated, you must book an appointment for the vaccination.
If you are getting vaccinated at a maternity and child health clinic, you need to book an appointment. COVID-19 vaccinations are provided centrally at the Ruoholahti Maternity and Child Health Clinic.
In school health care, you must make an appointment for the vaccination separately with the school nurse. Please follow your school’s communications regarding vaccinations.
Student health care administers influenza vaccines both by appointment and on designated vaccination days. COVID-19 vaccines are only available by appointment at the Centralised Unit of Student Health Care at Lintulahdenkatu 10. Please follow your educational institution’s vaccination information.
Hospital wards, senior centres, service homes and home care services in Helsinki vaccinate their own clients. These client groups do not need to book an appointment for vaccination.
We recommend that you book your appointment primarily through the Maisa app or online at maisa.fi.
If you are unable to use Maisa, you can book an appointment by calling the separate appointment booking number
+358 9 310 46300(Link starts a phone call)
(weekdays 8.00–16.00).
We will open appointment booking for vaccinations at health stations in stages:
- Appointment booking for people aged 65 and over will open on 16 September in Maisa and on 17 September by phone.
- Appointment booking for people under 65 will open on 8 October in Maisa and by phone.
We recommend that you primarily book an appointment for COVID-19 vaccination through the Maisa app or online at maisa.fi.
If you are unable to use Maisa, you can book an appointment by calling the separate appointment booking number +358 9 310 55530(Link starts a phone call) on weekdays 8.00–14.00 (callback service available on weekdays 8.00–16.00).
You can book a vaccination appointment for your partner online if you and your partner have signed an agreement on acting on behalf of another person in Maisa. Read more about acting on behalf of another person in Maisa.
Acting on behalf of a child or relative at health stations | City of Helsinki
If you have not signed an agreement on acting on behalf of another person, you can book a vaccination appointment for your partner by calling the appointment booking number Mon–Fri 8.00–16.00, tel.
+358 9 310 46300(Link starts a phone call)
.
A guardian can book a vaccination appointment on behalf of their child. You can book the appointment via Maisa or by phone.
Read more about acting on behalf of a child:
Please do not come to your vaccination appointment if you are ill. If you fall ill, cancel or reschedule your appointment in Maisa. If you are unable to use Maisa, you can cancel or postpone your appointment by calling +358 9 310 46300 (Link starts a phone call) on weekdays 8.00–16.00.
There is no callback feature in the phone service. Please note that there is a charge of EUR 56.70 for any unused and uncancelled appointments for anyone over the age of 18.
You can cancel your vaccination appointment in the Maisa app or at maisa.fi. You must cancel at least one day before your appointment.
If you are unable to cancel your appointment in Maisa, you can cancel a health station appointment by calling +358 9 310 46300(Link starts a phone call) , Mon–Fri 8.00–16.00. You can cancel an appointment at a maternity and child health clinic by calling the appointment booking number +358 9 3105 5530(Link starts a phone call) on weekdays 8.00–14.00 (callback service available on weekdays 8.00–16.00).
Please note that there is a charge of EUR 56.70 for any unused and uncancelled appointments for anyone over the age of 18.
If you belong to the target groups for both vaccinations, you will receive the COVID-19 and influenza vaccines at the same time.
Vaccinations for maternity and child health clinic clients who are part of the target groups are organised centrally at the Ruoholahti clinic. Appointments can be booked by calling the clinic’s appointment booking number
+358 9 310 55530(Link starts a phone call)
on weekdays 8.00–14.00 (the call-back service is available on weekdays 8.00–16.00).
Health stations will offer COVID-19 vaccinations to people in the target groups during their other appointments as well.
Children and pregnant people belonging to the target groups for COVID-19 vaccination receive their vaccinations at the Ruoholahti Centralised Maternity and Child Health Clinic Service. You can make an appointment by calling the clinic’s appointment booking number
+358 9 310 55530(Link starts a phone call)
on weekdays 8.00–14.00 (callback service available on weekdays 8.00–16.00).
If you are a client of home care services, the home care staff will vaccinate you. Your informal carer can also get vaccinated at home if they are in the target group for COVID-19 vaccination. We will inform home care clients about vaccinations in home care.
If you are a person receiving informal care with an informal care decision, you are not a client of home care and your mobility is limited, we will arrange for a mobile vaccination unit to visit your home if necessary. We will inform informal care recipients about the mobile vaccination unit’s vaccinations and appointment booking in a separate letter.
Yes, it is. Helsinki hospital wards, senior centres, service homes and home care services will vaccinate their own clients.
For information on using Kela taxis, please visit the Kela website: Using a taxi | Our Services | Kela(Link leads to external service)
When you come for your vaccination, bring your Kela card or ID with you. Wear clothes that allow you to easily expose your upper arm. Be prepared to stay on the premises for 15 minutes after receiving the vaccine so that any reactions can be observed.
Book a daytime vaccination appointment (8.00–15.00) in Maisa or by phone. When you arrive for your vaccination, tell the nurse about your previous reaction. Usually, you can still get vaccinated. If you have previously had a severe allergic reaction, i.e. an anaphylactic reaction, to a COVID-19 vaccine, you cannot receive the vaccine.
The COVID-19 vaccine does not contain any egg protein. An egg allergy is not a contraindication for receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.
As a precaution, the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare recommends avoiding strenuous physical activity for three days after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.
Everyone must book their own vaccination appointment and arrive at the appointed time.
If you and your family member are in the same age group, you can book vaccination appointments close to each other on the same day and at the same health station in Maisa.
COVID-19 vaccinations are not given on the basis of close contact.
If you wish, you can check with the health station where you are staying to see if you can get vaccinated there. If you cannot be vaccinated there, we recommend that you come to get vaccinated at your local health station in Helsinki during the designated vaccination weeks.
We vaccinate only those people belonging to the target groups for COVID-19 vaccination who have chosen Helsinki’s health care services as their health service provider (Read more: Freedom of choice | City of Helsinki). We also vaccinate people who are staying in Helsinki for a long period of time.
If you have no underlying medical conditions, are over 18 years of age and have not previously received any COVID-19 vaccines, we recommend the single-dose primary series.
In accordance with the recommendation of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, we only administer booster shots of the COVID-19 vaccine to people with no underlying medical conditions if they are at least 75 years of age.
We only administer COVID-19 vaccines to individuals who belong to the target groups for COVID-19 vaccination specified by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL). If you are not in the target group for vaccination, you can get vaccinated at your own expense at a private clinic. You can check hel.fi/covid-19-vaccinations to see who belong to the target groups for vaccination and are eligible for free vaccination. Please note that THL’s recommendations regarding the target groups have changed since last year.
The most common side effects of COVID-19 vaccines are local reactions at the injection site, such as pain, swelling, redness or warmth.
Other very common side effects include general symptoms like fever, muscle aches, headache, fatigue, irritability and shivering. Swelling of the lymph nodes may also occur near the injection site.
For more information on the possible side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine, please visit the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) website. Side effects of COVID-19 vaccines – THL (in Finnish)(Link leads to external service)
The protection against infection provided by current COVID-19 vaccines is limited and short-lived. However, vaccinated people usually have milder symptoms and recover more quickly. The main purpose of vaccination is to protect against severe forms of COVID-19.
