Most of those hospitalized for Covid-19 in Finland are not vaccinated

During the last week, the number of new Covid-19 cases has remained at almost the same level as the week before.

According to the latest monitoring report on the epidemic published by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, 5,163 new cases were diagnosed between 9 and 15 August, whereas in the previous week the number of new cases was 5,072.

Currently, Covid-19 is spreading especially among unvaccinated young people and young adults, the Ministry says.

Based on the information provided by the hospital districts, 106 people were receiving hospital care due to the Covid-19 disease on 18 August. Of them, 12 were inpatients in primary healthcare, 65 in specialised healthcare and 29 in intensive care.

The overall burden on specialised healthcare has increased slightly. The need for intensive care in particular has increased over the past few weeks due to the growing number of infections. The majority of those in need of hospital care are unvaccinated, according to the health authorities.

Vaccination

On 18 August, the total number of Covid-19 related deaths occurred in Finland since the start of the epidemic was 1,008.

Vaccination progresses slowly in Finland compared to the major developed countries.

In Finland, around 69% of the population have received at least their first vaccine dose but only about 44% have received the second dose and are fully vaccinated.

Among the reasons for this delay is the long time interval between both doses (between 2 and 3 months, compared to 2-3 in other European countries) and a certain reluctance in some sectors of the population.

The vaccination of 12–15-year-olds started earlier in August. About 24% of those in this age group have received their first vaccine dose.

Health authorities stress that vaccination is now the best way to protect against Covid-19.