Influenza vaccination coverage has increased significantly among older people – coverage among young children has slightly decreased
According to the national vaccination register, almost 63% of those aged 65 or over took an influenza vaccine during the 2021–2022 influenza season. For children aged under 3, coverage reached 41%, while for 3–6-year-olds it stood at 31%.
All people aged either under 7 or 65 and over are entitled to a free influenza vaccination as part of the national vaccination programme.
Vaccination coverage of older people increased by 10 percentage points
During the last influenza season, nearly 140,000 more vaccine doses were recorded in the vaccination register for people aged 65 years and over than were recorded during the previous season (2020–2021). Vaccination coverage of older people increased by 10 percentage points.
Influenza vaccination coverage among older people has been increasing for several years. During the coronavirus pandemic, older people were particularly keen to get vaccinated for influenza. Some of the increase may also be due to the fact that vaccination data is now more comprehensively collected into the vaccination register.
When examined by health centre, vaccination coverage among older people varied between approximately 28% and 74%. When examined by municipality, the differences in coverage remain large. However, more than 200 municipalities reached a coverage of over 60%.
Vaccination coverage of young children has decreased slightly during the coronavirus pandemic
The enthusiasm of families with young children for taking the influenza vaccine has also been increasing steadily for several years, but coverage has decreased slightly during the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the national vaccination register, 41% of children under the age of three and 31% of three to six-year-old children were vaccinated against influenza last autumn or winter. The corresponding figures for the year before were 43% and 35%. The majority of 2–6-year-olds received their influenza vaccine as a nasal spray.
The coverage of influenza vaccinations across different health centre areas varied from 5% to 63% for children under the age of three and from 4% to almost 59% for three to six-year-old children. Vaccination uptake was considerably higher in Eastern Finland than in Western Finland.
Among other things, the enthusiasm for vaccination may have been influenced by how unpleasant influenza and its secondary diseases are thought to be and whether it has been easy to get a vaccination appointment during the coronavirus pandemic. Some of the children may not have been vaccinated because the parents may have thought that due to preventing measures of corona there is a minor risk having influenza.
Map service shows influenza vaccination coverage
Information on influenza vaccination coverage for young children and those aged 65 or over can be viewed using the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare’s interactive map presentation. The map shows information obtained from the vaccination register for several different seasons, and the level of coverage can be examined at the hospital district, health centre and municipal level, for example. The coverage in different regions can also be compared to the national level.
Due to shortcomings associated with recording vaccinations and data transfer, the actual coverage may even be slightly higher than the figures in the vaccination register. The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare works together with municipalities, private service providers, specialised medical care actors and software providers to ensure that the coverage figures are as accurate as possible.
Map presentation of influenza vaccination coverage
Further information
Ulpu Elonsalo
Chief Physician
THL
[email protected]
Mia Kontio
Chief Specialist
THL
[email protected]
