Press releases and news

The new Preparing for incidents and crises guide aimed at the entire population has been published in Suomi.fi.

Antimicrobial resistance is a rapidly growing threat. Bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics are common abroad and may easily spread to Finland by travellers.

Are you travelling during Christmas or winter holidays? Those travelling to far-off destinations should remember the risk of mosquito-borne diseases. Mosquito-borne diseases are widespread in the southern hemisphere, also at destinations favoured by tourists. Remember to check the country-specific disease situation and recommendations well before your trip.

About half of higher education students mainly use Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS) health services. In universities of applied sciences (UAS), the proportion of students using FSHS services nearly doubled, from 24% to 43%, between 2021 and 2024. These results are from the Finnish Student Health and Wellbeing Survey (KOTT) conducted last spring.

Although the total consumption of alcohol in Finland has decreased from 2008, risky drinking is still common. Of those aged 20–79, 11% or 450,000 people were in the moderate or high-risk group for long-term alcohol-related harm. The limit for the risks of adverse health effects caused by long-term use is more than 14 units per week for men and more than 7 units for women.

During the school year 2024–2025, the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) is studying the food habits and nutritional intake of young people.

A Finnish report has assessed for the first time the financial implications of the health benefits of nearby nature in fighting chronic diseases.

A groundbreaking joint study by Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) and Aalto University has revealed critical insights into the role of bots in shaping public health discourse during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly on Twitter.

The psychological distress of higher education students has decreased over the past three years, especially among women. The results are based on the Finnish Student Health and Wellbeing Survey (KOTT), which was conducted last spring. 

Many wellbeing services counties will begin offering influenza vaccinations to at-risk groups in October. A vaccine with an adjuvant – which creates a stronger immune response – is recommended to people aged 85 and above to ensure better vaccine protection that will last for the entire influenza season. The influenza epidemic has not yet begun in Finland.

Income difficulties have increased among higher education students over the past three years. The share of students who felt that their income was very scarce and uncertain has increased from 13% to 19% during this period.

This autumn, the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) is studying the well-being of adults living in Finland and their experiences of health and social services.

In addition to participating in the campaign against racism, The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) supports work communities in learning new, anti-racist working methods.

The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) directs wellbeing services counties to provide a booster dose of the whooping cough vaccine in pregnancy. The aim is to prevent serious cases of whooping cough in babies.

According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control ECDC, the risk of an mpox outbreak in Europe exists but is very unlikely. In particular risk groups and persons with close personal contact with diagnosed or suspected cases have a moderate or high risk of contracting the virus. The ECDC published its risk assessment on mpox today (16 August 2024). According to the THL, Finland and other parts of Europe are well prepared to combat and diagnose possible cases of mpox. 

This autumn’s coronavirus vaccinations are starting in accordance with the individual schedules of the wellbeing services counties. Finland has received Comirnaty vaccines, which have been updated to target the JN.1 variant of the coronavirus as recommended by the European Medicines Agency EMA.

According to the information received by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), a person with measles travelled on the Viking Line Gabriella ferry on Friday 26 July between 14:00 and 16:50 from Tallinn to Helsinki. The person may have spread the measles virus to other people during the journey.

In cooperation with the Finnish Food Authority, THL has prepared a recommendation on the target groups of avian influenza vaccination. The vaccine is offered to persons aged 18 or over who are at increased risk of being infected with avian influenza because of their work or other circumstances. 

Alcohol consumption continued to fall last year. According to THL’s latest statistics. the total consumption of alcoholic beverages was 8.7 litres of 100% alcohol per capita (aged 15 or over). This is 2.4% less than in 2022.

People lose the greatest amount of money to slot machines in areas where disadvantage is prevalent, the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare’s (THL) study shows. The availability of slot machines or, the number of slot machines in relation to the number of residents, is also the highest in the most disadvantaged postal code areas, even though the number of slot machines has decreased significantly overall.