Vaccination recommendations have been updated in seven municipalities across Finland.
The national vaccination programme against tick-borne encephalitis will be extended this year to Espoo’s Suvisaaristo.
In practice, this means that all permanent residents and long-term holidaymakers over the age of three in the Suvisaaristo area will receive a free vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis.
The incidence of the disease has increased significantly in the Suvisaaristo area during the five years of monitoring.
The vaccination series includes three vaccine doses. It is good to start the vaccination series at the beginning of spring at the latest, so that you have time to get two vaccination doses before summer. The third vaccine dose will be given the following summer.
A previously unvaccinated person receives three vaccination doses free of charge. Even a person whose vaccination has not been completed will receive supplementary vaccinations for free as part of the vaccination program. For the time being, booster vaccinations for those who have received the three-dose vaccination series are not included in the vaccination program.
This TBE vaccine does not protect against borreliosis and does not prevent the tick from infecting the skin.
Also updates to vaccination recommendations for other risk areas
In addition to the summer archipelago, free TBE vaccinations are already being continued in Åland, Parais, Simo, the southern districts of Kemi, the Kotka archipelago, the Sammonlahti district of Lappeenranta, the Preiskar island off Raahe, Kustavi, the Sipoo archipelago, Lohja in the Ojamo, Lylyinen/Hormajärvi, Vohloisen/Virkkala and Kirkniemi areas and in Kirkkonummi In the postcode areas of Luoma and Masala.
The Finnish Institute of Health and Welfare THL gives vaccination recommendations also for areas outside the national vaccination program. Vaccination recommendations for these risk areas are based on incidence and case-by-case consideration. Many municipalities, especially in the archipelago and coastal regions, are in the risk area for tick-borne encephalitis.
This year, vaccination recommendations for risk areas have been updated in Espoo, Hanko, Joensuu, Puumala, Raasepori, Rauma and Uussakaupunki.
In risk areas regarding vaccination recommendations, the vaccinator pays for the vaccination series himself.
You can also buy the TBE vaccine yourself by asking for a prescription at your health center, buying the vaccine at a pharmacy and booking a vaccination appointment online or by phone. Private health service companies also offer TBE vaccinations.
Is climate change behind the infections?
Last year, a total of 123 cases of tick-borne encephalitis were reported to THL’s infectious disease register, which is slightly less than in the peak year of 2021, when there were 148 cases. In previous years, there have been less than a hundred cases.
Based on monitoring data for the years 2018–2022, the incidence of lupus encephalitis has been highest in the municipalities of the coastal regions in Paraini (46 cases per 100,000 inhabitants) and Kustavi (41/100,000), as well as in the province of Åland (38/100,000) and Lohja (16/100,000).
Almost all infections have been found in persons who were not vaccinated.
Municipality-specific case numbers and TBE vaccination recommendations can be viewed in more detail in the map application found on THL’s website.