Corona vaccinations have started rapidly in Helsinki. About one thousand health care professionals in Helsinki were vaccinated last week.
The City of Helsinki continues vaccinations this week. Besides health care professionals, residents in four senior centres are also being vaccinated. According to the national vaccination strategy, residents in 24-hour care, personnel treating corona patients and personnel in nursing services are among the first to be vaccinated. We have already been in contact with the residents and their relatives in the senior centres about the opportunity to be vaccinated.
The aim is to vaccinate about 2,000 people this week.
“We vaccinate as soon as we get vaccines. According to the current estimate, the vaccination of professionals who work with corona, personnel in nursing services and residents, as well as other front-line staff will take the whole of January. After this, we will start vaccinating the elderly and those at risk of a severe coronavirus infection because of an existing condition”, says the director of Health and substance abuse services in Helsinki, Leena Turpeinen.
“It’s great that we can already start vaccinating the residents within the nursing services. Even if the vaccinations have started we still follow strict safety measures within nursing services. Unfortunately the vaccinations will not mean a loosening of the visiting restrictions", says the medical director of Helsinki City Hospital, Laura Pikkarainen.
In Helsinki there are about 4,400 residents in 24-hour care. Of those, about 2,300 are in the city’s senior centres and 2,100 are within purchased services. There are ten senior centres in total.
Photo: City of Helsinki Social services and Health care