Seasonal Flu and COVID-19 Vaccinations: Book Your Appointment Starting 19 October 2023
You can get your seasonal influenza vaccine and COVID-19 booster shot from November onwards. Vaccination sites include health centres as well as child and maternity health clinics. If you are an elderly person living in a nursing home, you will get your seasonal vaccine at your nursing home. Nurses at schools and educational institutions will send Wilma messages to inform parents and students about specific influenza vaccination dates for each school.
Appointments for seasonal vaccinations can be booked starting 19 October 2023. You can get both the influenza vaccine and the COVID-19 booster shot during the same appointment. Please note that this appointment is only for vaccinations, and we cannot address other concerns during the appointment.
“The vaccine is the best way to prevent influenza and its complications, such as pneumonia. It is recommended to get vaccinated every year as the vaccine’s effectiveness wears off after about a year, and the influenza virus evolves constantly,” says Leif Lakoma, Chief Physician of the Infectious diseases unit at the Western Uusimaa Wellbeing Services County. “By getting the influenza vaccine, you also protect your loved ones.”
Eligibility for Seasonal Vaccines
The influenza vaccine is provided free of charge to:
- Pregnant individuals
- Everyone aged 65 and older
- Children under 7
- Those belonging to at-risk groups due to medical conditions or ongoing treatments
- Close contacts of people highly vulnerable to severe influenza
- Individuals starting their compulsory or voluntary military service.
If you are not in a risk group or in close contact with someone who is, you can still get vaccinated at your own cost. Many employers also offer influenza vaccinations for their employees. You can also request a prescription for the influenza vaccine by calling your health centre’s number for seasonal vaccination appointments.
The COVID-19 booster for autumn-winter 2023 is recommended for:
- Everyone aged 65 and older
- Those aged 18 and older in medical risk groups
- Those aged 12 and older with severe immune deficiencies.
- Pregnant individuals.
Pneumococcal Vaccination Alongside the Seasonal Vaccine
The national vaccination programme broadened its scope for the pneumococcal vaccine in the autumn of 2023. From now on, people aged 65–84 with asthma or COPD and those under 75 with a severely weakened immune system can get the pneumococcal vaccine. People in these target groups can receive a one-time pneumococcal vaccine together with the seasonal vaccine if they have not received it previously.
For more information and municipality-specific booking instructions, visit: www.luvn.fi/en/seasonal-vaccinations-western-uusimaa-wellbeing-services-county
Come and get vaccinated!