HELSINKI (Reuters) -Finland announced plans to provide preemptive Bird flu vaccinations to animal-exposed workers starting next week. This makes Finland the world’s first country to take this proactive health measure.
Finland has purchased vaccines for 10,000 people, with each requiring two injections. The procurement is part of a larger EU effort involving 15 nations and CSL Seqirus.
The Australian company in a statement to Reuters said Finland would be the first country to roll out the vaccine.
“The vaccine will be offered to those aged 18 or over who are at increased risk of contracting avian influenza due to their work or other circumstances,” the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) said in a statement.
The H5N1 strain of bird flu has killed or caused the culling of hundreds of millions of poultry globally in recent years and has increasingly been spreading to mammals, including cows in the United States and, in some cases, also to humans.
Finland has not detected the virus in humans, THL said.
However, the country is eager to roll out vaccinations given transmission risks posed by its fur farms.
“The conditions in Finland are very different in that we have fur farms where the animals can end up in contact with wildlife,” Chief Physician Hanna Nohynek at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) told Reuters.
The decision to implement bird flu vaccinations in Finland highlights international collaboration and readiness in combating infectious diseases. This groundbreaking initiative sets a precedent for other nations to follow in enhancing global health security.
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