TBE, or ‘tick vaccine’

The vaccine gives protection against tick-borne encephalitis (TBE).
Vaccine-preventable diseases

To whom is the TBE vaccine administered?
Which vaccine is used and what does it contain?
Dosage and schedule
What are the contraindications and precautions associated with the vaccine?
What are the benefits of the TBE vaccine?
What are the potential adverse effects of the TBE vaccine?
History of the TBE vaccine in the national vaccination programme
Recommendations and reports

To whom is the TBE (tick-borne encephalitis) vaccine administered?

The national vaccination programme offers a free vaccine to persons aged 3 years and over who have a municipality of residence in Finland and who have a permanent home or a holiday house in

southern districts of Kemi
Simo
Kotka Archipelago
Sammonlahti district in Lappeenranta
Preiskari island off Raahe
Parainen
Lohjanjärvi archipelago area
Kustavi
Luoma region of Kirkkonummi
In parts of the Sipoo Archipelago

Only those who are planning to spend time in nature for at least 4 weeks in summer need the vaccine.

Those permanently resident in the Åland Islands are also entitled to a free vaccine.

Map showing the incidence of tick-borne encephalitis and vaccination recommendations by locality

A person who has not been previously vaccinated is entitled to three free doses.

A person whose primary vaccination series has not been completed also receives the booster vaccinations free of charge as part of the national programme.

The vaccine can be administered to both permanent residents and others entitled to a free vaccination in the Åland Islands, Parainen, Simo, Kemi, Kotka, Lappeenranta, Raahi, Lohja or Kustavi.

Boosters for those who have received the series of three doses are not currently included in the national vaccination programme.

TBE vaccine will not protect you from ticks

The TBE vaccine is often known as the tick vaccination. It is good to remember that the vaccine will not protect you from ticks or stop ticks from attaching to your skin.

The most common disease spread by ticks is borreliosis, for which there is no vaccine.

This is why you should protect yourself from tick bites even if you have been vaccinated. Instructions for protection against ticks.

Which vaccine is used and what does it contain?

TicoVac or Encepur vaccine for adults, and TicoVac Junior or Encepur Children for children, are used in the national vaccination programme.
While the composition of the vaccines for adults and children is similar, the volume of the vaccine for children is only one half of the adult dose.
The vaccines do not contain live pathogens and can thus not cause tick-borne encephalitis.
The active substance contains whole inactivated TBE viruses cultured in chicken primordial germ cells.
The adjuvant is an aluminium compound.
The vaccines contain no preservatives.
They do not contain significant volumes of egg protein (ovalbumin).

Dosage and schedule

Ticovac and Ticovac Junior

TicoVac Junior vaccine is used for children aged from 1 to 15 years. A single dose is 0.25 ml.
Ticovac is used for those aged 16 years or over. A single dose is 0.5 ml.
The primary vaccination series consists of three doses. The second dose is administered 1 to 3 months after the first one. The third dose is administered 5 to 12 months after the second one.
If protection is needed urgently, the second dose can already be administered two weeks after the first one. In this case, too, the third dose is administered 5 to 12 months after the second dose.
Once started, the vaccination series can also be continued with another TBE vaccine product if necessary.

Encepur and Encepur Children

Encepur Children vaccine is used for children aged from 1 to 11 years. A single dose is 0.25 ml.
Encepur is used for those aged 12 years or over. A single dose is 0.5 ml.
The primary vaccination series consists of three doses. The second dose is administered 1 to 3 months after the first one. The third dose is administered 9 to 12 months after the second dose.
If protection is needed more urgently, the second dose can already be administered two weeks after the first one. In this case, too, the third dose is administered 9 to 12 months after the second dose.
If immediate protection is needed, an accelerated vaccination schedule with Encepur can be used. In this case, the first three doses are given on days 0, 7 and 21, and the first booster already 12 to 18 months after the third dose.
Once started, the vaccination series can also be continued with another TBE vaccine product if necessary.

Booster doses

Administration of the first booster dose after three years is recommended. Subsequently, boosters are administered as follows if exposure to the TBE virus continues:

to those who received the booster when aged under 50, the next booster dose is given after 10 years
to those who received the booster when aged 50 to 60, boosters are given every 5 years
to those who received the booster when aged over 60, the next booster doses are given every 3 years
to persons with weakened immune system due to treatment or an illness, a booster dose should be administered every 3 years.

For example: a 53-year-old who received the most recent booster at the age of 48 gets the next booster dose at the age of 58.

THL guidelines on the intervals of booster doses for those aged under 50 apply to both products, Ticovac and Encepur, and differ from the instructions given in the summary of product characteristics.

What are the contraindications and precautions associated with the vaccine?

The vaccine may not be administered to children under the age of 1 year.

The vaccine may not be administered to a person who has had a confirmed anaphylactic reaction following a previous dose of a TBE vaccine or a vaccine containing similar components.

Egg allergy is not a contraindication for vaccination. If the vaccination is considered necessary, you may also administer it to a person in whom egg or egg-containing foods have triggered an anaphylactic reaction. THL’s and the manufacturer's contraindications and precautions for administration to a person with egg allergy differ on this point.

Postpone the vaccination if the person has a temperature.

What are the benefits of the TBE vaccine?

The vaccine prevents around nine out of ten TBE cases.

In addition to an acute disease, the vaccine can also prevent long-term neurological problems, including memory and concentration disorders, which affect approx. one out of three patients who develop a disease with nervous system symptoms.

What are the potential adverse effects of the TBE vaccine?

Usual adverse effects include local symptoms at the injection site, including redness, hotness, pain and swelling.

The vaccine recipient may have transient generalised symptoms, including headaches, nausea and tiredness. Some experience aches and pains in their limbs and swelling of the lymph nodes.

Fever is a common symptom, especially in young children, which has mainly occurred after the first dose.

Skin symptoms or actual hypersensitivity reactions are rare.

The vaccine has been in use for a long time, and during this period, tens of millions of doses have been administered.

Neurological symptoms occurring in the period following the vaccination have been extremely rare: they have affected approx. one per one million recipients.

A link between the vaccine and isolated infections of the central or peripheral nervous system reported following vaccinations cannot be fully excluded.

Local and generalised symptoms usually begin within a few days of administration and go on for some days. They may be treated with fever and pain medications.

Local and generalised symptoms are not a contraindication for further vaccinations.

History of the TBE vaccine in the national vaccination programme

TBE vaccines were started as part of the national vaccination programme in the Åland Islands in 2006.

Parainen and Simo were added to the programme in 2017, and were parts of Kemi and Lappeenranta as well as the Kotka Archipelago and the island of Preiskari in 2018. A vaccination programme was initiated in a limited area of Lohja in 2019, and this area was expanded in 2020. In the spring of 2021, vaccinations were made available in parts of Kirkkonummi and in parts of the Sipoo Archipelago.