THL statement: Vaccination cover for care personnel could be temporarily verified by COVID-19 passports
The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) is proposing to the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health that the COVID-19 passport could be temporarily used for the verification of the eligibility for work for those holding certain positions in social and health care. This would mean that an employer could use the COVID-19 passport to affirm that an employee is unlikely to inflict a significant risk of infection on those that they care for or on their colleagues.
“Under our proposal, a temporary section on the COVID-19 passport could be added to the Communicable Diseases Act for the duration of the pandemic, which would make it possible to require, or allow the use of the COVID-19 passport to verify the eligibility of care personnel to work. By using the COVID-19 passport we could better protect the elderly and others being cared for”, says THL Head Physician Otto Helve.
However, THL also feels that there is no reason at this stage to include the coronavirus vaccination permanently in the list of tasks in social and health care, defined by the Communicable Diseases Act, that require protection against a disease either by having recovered from it, or by having been vaccinated against it.
“Using the COVID-19 passport would probably be a faster solution than adding the coronavirus vaccine to the vaccination cover required of students and employees in social and health care under the Communicable Diseases Act. Enacting such a change in stipulations of the Communicable Diseases Act would probably require lengthy preparation, which would add to the risks to patient health safety”, says Markku Tervahauta, Director General at THL.
THL has delivered its statement to the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and the Government will decide on possible preparation of legislation and the possible expansion of the use of the COVID-19 passport for verifying the vaccination cover of care personnel. Preparation of legislation requires, among other things, the evaluation of related questions of fundamental rights.
Coronavirus vaccinations for health care professionals have largely proceeded well
On 23 September 2021, coronavirus vaccination coverage for health care professionals was at least 90 percent for the first vaccinations and 80 percent for the second. These figures are higher than for the population on average.
Among health care professionals, the groups with the lowest vaccination coverage include social work assistants, carers for the developmentally disabled, home care personnel, and other practical nurses. In these groups, vaccine coverage for the first dose is 83–85 percent, and 68–73 percent for the second dose.
Vaccination coverage for both the first and second doses is lowest among social carers. Carers in the social field work in care homes and in residential and service units for the elderly, which house people who, because of their age or illness, face a high risk of getting a serious case of coronavirus disease, or of death from the disease.
Data from the Helsinki GSE COVID-19 Situation Room was used as a source of information on vaccination coverage. The Helsinki GSE COVID-19 Situation Room is a project of three units of three departments of economics.
Those at risk because of advanced age or underlying diseases benefit from vaccination protection of others
The protective effect of the coronavirus vaccines used in Finland against serious coronavirus disease is excellent. As is the case with other vaccinations, the coronavirus vaccines do not give equally effective protection to everyone. For example, for those with serious immunodeficiencies, or with elderly people who are in poor condition, the protection is weaker than among the young and healthy.
Those who are at risk because of advanced age or underlying diseases benefit from the vaccines given to those who are in contact with them. Although a coronavirus vaccination does not fully prevent the person who is vaccinated from passing on the disease, it nevertheless significantly reduces the likelihood of transmission.
THL has published the statement concerning the Communicable Diseases Act on its website. The statement considers both medical, and legal points of view.
Link to the statement (in Finnish)
Further information
Otto Helve
Chief Physician
THL
[email protected]
