Coronavirus vaccinations in Finland reduced the number of severe Covid-19 cases requiring hospitalisation by an average of 74 percent in people aged over 70 and by an average of 84 percent in at-risk groups, according to the Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), which published preliminary results of a study on the matter on Wednesday.
The study compared the likelihood of hospitalisation for coronavirus in vaccinated and non-vaccinated patients.
The results largely reflect the efficacy of a single dose of the vaccine, as only 10 percent of the study's participants had received a second dose during the study period.
"Estimates of vaccine efficacy are in line with results internationally. Four weeks after receiving the first dose of the vaccine, efficacy was 78 percent in Israel, 81 percent in Scotland and 71-80 percent in England," said Tuija Leino, head of the immunisation programme at THL.
The effectiveness of the vaccines was studied in people over the age of 70 and in those aged 16-69 deemed to be at-risk due to other health factors. The study collected data between 27 December 2020 and 28 March 2021.
