The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health has stated that coronavirus vaccines will be acquired for the entire Finnish population. The vaccines will arrive in Finland in small batches, which is why the population will be vaccinated in a certain order. This order is determined on a medical basis.

The objective of the Finnish vaccination process is to decrease the number of severe COVID-19 infections, premature deaths and years of potential life lost and to maintain the capacity of the healthcare services. The chosen order of vaccinations supports these objectives.

The duty of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) is to specify the order of priority for vaccinations further based on factors such as age, risk factors and predisposition to contracting the severe form of the coronavirus infection. Due to this, THL has compiled a more detailed recommendation for the order of priority for vaccinations.

Risk groups’ order of priority for the coronavirus vaccination

The vaccination order provides instructions regarding which order the vaccinations should be started in for different population groups. To ensure a smooth progress of the vaccination process, consecutive groups will be vaccinated parallel to each other. This means that the vaccinations of the next group can begin when the vaccinations for the previous group are still ongoing.

Frequently asked questions

I’m not sure whether I want the vaccine. Where can I find more information about it?

General information is available on THL’s website, for example, by clicking the link below.

Getting vaccinated against COVID-19: how, why and when? – Infectious diseases and vaccinations – THL

Usually, you can take the vaccine as normal even if you have an illness. The coronavirus vaccines used in Finland do not contain a living virus, which means that they cannot give you the coronavirus infection, according to current knowledge. Thanks to this, the COVID-19 vaccines are usually also suitable for people with an impaired immune system caused by a certain illness or medication.

If you will be started on medication due to a serious illness or if you have a surgery or some other operation coming up, you can bring up the vaccination with your treating doctor.

You cannot receive a vaccination when you are suffering from a fever. The vaccination must then be postponed until the fever has gone.

If you are still uncertain about whether the vaccine is suitable for you, please call the advisory services of your health station. The advisory services may not be aware of whether you belong to an at-risk group currently being vaccinated.

Only call the number for making a coronavirus vaccination appointment when you are certain that you will take the vaccine. The appointment booking services will confirm whether you are part of the at-risk group currently being vaccinated.

Why are the clients of home care vaccinated later than people over the age of 70, who are able to come in for an appointment?

A vaccine by Moderna has been reserved for people living at home who cannot come to the clinic due to their health, as it is possible for home nursing service workers to transport the vaccine . The vaccine by BioNTech-Phizer given at the clinic cannot be transported to people’s homes due to its storage and transportation requirements. The Moderna vaccines will be delivered slightly later than the vaccines given during clinic appointments. If a client of home nursing services is able to come to a clinic appointment for a vaccination, they are entitled to make an appointment through the appointment booking service.

We do not usually have any daily surplus vaccine doses, as appointments are planned so that there are as many appointments as there are available vaccines. However, if you are over the age of 85 and have not yet received your vaccination appointment, you can call +358(0)44 4691569 and we will book an appointment for you as soon as possible.

Clients of home nursing services will be offered the vaccine over the course of spring when the availability of the Moderna vaccines is confirmed.

​Why do you not call elderly people here in Kalajoki and offer them vaccination appointments, like they do in neighbouring municipalities?

We called some of the over 90-year-old residents at first, when there were still very few vaccines available. We have also called informal care patients over the age of 70 and their informal carers.

Unfortunately, it is not possible for us to call all the residents over the age of 70.

Why do we only have one number for booking appointments and why is the information about vaccinations only available on the website, even though not everyone has an internet connection?

The TeleQ call-back system was commissioned in Kalajoki for the vaccination appointments of residents over the age of 70. The number is +358(0)44 4691 532 More appointments will be reserved for this service when we find out more about the vaccine batches that will arrive.

The appointment booking number for people under the age of 70 belonging to at-risk groups is +358(0)40 5577 513. This number is closed when there are no available appointments.

We also have a contact number for people who do not receive home nursing services but who cannot come into the health station for a vaccination appointment alone or with the help of their loved ones due to their deteriorated functional abilities. They will be vaccinated during a home visit. The number is +358(0)44 4691 569

We will receive vaccines in small batches over the spring, with a brief term of notice, which is why information must be communicated quickly. The sharing of information online is the quickest way to distribute information. We will also share information through Kalajokiseutu and Merijärvi municipal bulletins, as the situation demands.

We request that the loved ones of elderly people (relatives, friends, neighbours) make sure that the elderly are aware of the vaccination procedures. We also hope that the loved ones will help them to book appointments and visit the clinic, if necessary.

I was unable to get through to the appointment booking of over 70-year-old residents and now there are no appointments left! Will I ever get vaccinated now that they are vaccinating younger people? Will they give my vaccine to someone younger?

In January, we operated under an estimation which had a greater availability of vaccines. Many of the eldest residents over the age of 90 were reached during the early stages, when there was only a small number of vaccines available. That is why it was decided that appointment booking would be opened to everyone over the age of 70 in Kalajoki. Many older residents also have other risk factors than just their age, which is why we wanted to offer the people in this group an equal chance to get an appointment.

Everyone over the age of 70 will be vaccinated by the summer, and the vaccinations for this group will be continued until everyone has been vaccinated.

Different vaccines are given to under 70-year-old people than to older people, so the vaccine will not be given to anyone younger.

When I call the appointment booking number for over 70-year-olds, why can I only hear a recording?

You can only make an appointment through the call-back system. We do not answer the phone calls directly, but will call you back later. When you call in, wait calmly, listen to the instructions given on the phone and then follow them. Calling the line repeatedly will not help. We will call you back in the order the calls were received.

The phone line for appointment booking will be reopened when we have more information about the number of vaccines that will become available.

Later in the spring, when the batches of arriving vaccines grows, we will open the electronic appointment booking system.

Why can I not get the vaccine intended for over 70-year-old residents yet, even though I will turn 70 this year?

Kalajoki follows the guidelines set by THL, according to which the person to be vaccinated must have turned 70 years old, at the latest on the day they are vaccinated.

Can a woman trying for a pregnancy be vaccinated against coronavirus?

Yes. After being vaccinated, you can try for a pregnancy right away. If you fall pregnant after receiving the first vaccine dose, taking the second dose can be postponed until after the pregnancy. If the expecting mother is at a higher risk of getting a severe form of the coronavirus infection or being exposed to COVID-19 in her work, the second dose can be given during her pregnancy.