The coverage of young children’s vaccinations included in the vaccination programme remains very good in Finland

The coverage of the vaccinations included in the vaccination programme for young children is still very good in Finland, with the coverage of some of the vaccines having even improved slightly.  Unvaccinated children are also still a rarity. This information is provided by the Finnish vaccination register.

More than 98%, that is, almost all children born in 2018 have received the 5-in-1 vaccination, which protects them against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), polio and Hib diseases. In many municipalities, all children receive the 5-in-1 vaccination. The coverage is as good as last year’s numbers with children born in 2017. 

Around 93% of children born in 2018 have received the vaccine against rotavirus and nearly 97% have received the pneumococcus vaccine. These figures are around the same levels as last year. 

“The popularity of both vaccines has been on the rise for several years. I am glad that numbers have especially gone up on the west coast where the vaccination coverage has traditionally been slightly lower than in the rest of Finland”, says Ulpu Elonsalo, Chief Physician at THL.

The popularity of the varicella vaccine has even grown somewhat since last year. Over 83% of the children have received the vaccine, whereas the coverage with children born in 2017 was about 80%. 

Slight decrease in the coverage of the MMR vaccine

Approximately 93% of children born in 2018 have received the MMR vaccine, which protects against measles, mumps and rubella, which is slightly less than last year. 

Big cities reaching MMR vaccination coverage of more than 95% include Espoo, Kuopio and Jyväskylä. Many smaller municipalities have also reached an excellent coverage of the MMR vaccine. 

“Although coverage at the national level seems to have decreased slightly, there are many municipalities where the coverage of the MMR vaccine is very good. In many large municipalities, MMR vaccination coverage is clearly lower than before. We still need more information about the reasons for that decrease. We are working with municipalities to investigate shortcomings in data transfer, for example”, says Elonsalo.

Very few children have not been vaccinated 

Unvaccinated children are a rarity in Finland.  Children are considered unvaccinated if they have not received any of the rotavirus, pneumococcus, MMR and the 5-in-1 or 4-in-1 vaccines. 

Only approximately one per cent of children have not received any basic vaccinations offered as part of the national vaccination scheme by the age of three. By the time children go to school at the age of 6 or 7, only approximately 0.7% of them remain unvaccinated. 

Coverage data is based on the national vaccination register 

Information about vaccination coverage is based on the national vaccination register's current data. Because of problems associated with the recording of vaccinations and data transfer, the actual coverage figures may be slightly higher than the figures in the register. 

THL, software providers and health centres are cooperating to ensure that the coverage figures are as accurate as possible. 

More information

Map presentation on children’s vaccination coverage
(THL)

A map presenting the proportions of unvaccinated children in different regions and in Finland
(THL)

Vaccination programme for children (in Finnish)
(THL)

Ulpu Elonsalo 
Chief Physician
THL
[email protected]

Mia Kontio
Chief Specialist
THL
[email protected]