Avian influenza vaccination for citizens at risk in Finland
Professor Dr. Salah Mahdi Hassan
Consultant and expert in poultry health and production
25/ 8/ 2024
Based on the recommendations of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), a vaccination programme against avian influenza has been launched for individuals in occupational risk groups aged 18 years and over, which includes veterinarians and workers in the poultry sector, as well as other people at high risk of avian influenza infection who work on fur farms. Finland is thus the first country in the world to take this measure.
The H5N8 serotype vaccine (CSL Seqirus H5N8 bird flu vaccine) has been made available in a batch of 20,000 doses valid until the end of September 2024. The vaccination regimen consists of two doses, three weeks apart, as part of a joint EU purchase of up to 40 million doses for 15 countries from CSL Seqirus, so the first dose should be administered this month (August 2024). It is important to note that scientific reports have previously indicated that “the H5N8 serotype virus (A/gyrfalcon/Washington/41088-6/2014) has been nominated as a vaccine seed that can be used to immunize humans against avian influenza.
Vaccination is voluntary and is available only to those identified as being at risk of contracting avian influenza. It should be noted that to date, no human cases of avian influenza have been reported in Finland, despite a large outbreak of the disease on the country’s fur farms in 2023. Finland is one of the largest fur-producing countries in the European Union, and avian influenza was widespread in the country in 2023, on 71 of the country’s 400 farms.
Now that Finland is one of the last remaining European countries that still allows and practices the farming of fur animals such as mink and fox, international attention has focused on the country. This also coincides with the fact that the spread of bird flu on Finnish fur farms is raising fears of a new pandemic worldwide.
The strange thing is that, despite the Finnish authorities allowing the use of bird flu vaccine in humans, they still oppose the use of bird flu vaccines in poultry.
Finally, we wish good luck to Finnish citizens who have been and are being vaccinated with bird flu vaccine.
