The regulations have been changed so that dentists, pharmacists, pharmacists, health care workers and laboratory assistants will have the right to give vaccines in the future. The purpose of the changes is to speed up the seasonal vaccinations in particular and to reduce the staff shortage in health care. The regulation changes come into force on 1 May 2024.
There is a shortage of labor in health care, and this is also reflected in vaccination activities. The lack of resources was noticeable last autumn, for example, when the queues for vaccinations against influenza and covid-19 were long. When the nurses switch to managing mass vaccinations, the personnel situation within the rest of the health and medical care becomes more difficult.
– The regulations have been changed to be able to administer the autumn vaccinations against covid-19 and influenza more effectively and to be able to reduce the staff shortage in health and medical care, says Minister for Social Security Sanni Grahn-Laasonen.
– This is an example of how the burden on healthcare can be reduced through carefully considered solutions where you change the division of labor and responsibly reduce regulation in order to better utilize the skills of healthcare staff. The right to vaccinate is extended to also apply to those who work in pharmacies, and this makes it easier for pharmacies to develop into service points where services can increasingly be provided with a low threshold, says Grahn-Laasonen.
The professional groups must have undergone the vaccination education
The new professional groups are not allowed to vaccinate children under the age of 18 because in many cases special skills are required to vaccinate minors. Also, vaccines against covid-19 may not be given to children under the age of 18 by anyone other than doctors, dentists or the nurses, health workers and midwives who have undergone the required vaccination education.
Pharmacists, pharmacists, health care workers and laboratory assistants must receive additional training in vaccination. Dentists, laboratory assistants and family caregivers can already give vaccines against covid-19 under certain conditions.
In the future, the vaccinations will also only be managed by service units within the health and medical care, which means that the pharmacies must register as service producers within the private health and medical care before they can start offering vaccinations. All vaccination activities must also have a responsible doctor, even when the vaccines are given at a service point connected to a pharmacy. The data on the vaccines given must be registered in an authorized manner in the patient data system.
The changes apply to the regulation on vaccinations and the regulation on vaccines against covid-19.
More information
Taneli Puumalainen, head of department
Eemil Nuuttila, special employee for the Minister for Social Security
firstname.surname(at)gov.fi
Tags: professional groups health care vaccinate
