Finland has become the first country in the world to start bird flu vaccinations for humans, health authorities announced on Tuesday. The Nordic country plans to offer preemptive bird flu vaccines as soon as next week to some workers with exposure to animals, according to authorities. Finland has bought vaccines for 10,000 people, each consisting of two injections, as part of a joint EU procurement of up to 40 million doses for 15 nations.
Egg prices set to almost double in price following bird flu outbreak Bird flu map shows unprecedented spread as expert warns over pandemic Australian manufacturer CSL Seqirus, who created the doses, said to Reuters that Finland will be the first country to roll out the vaccine. The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare said in a statement: “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.” In recent years, the H5N1 strain of bird flu has killed hundreds of millions of poultry globally .
More recently, it has increasingly been spreading to cow herds across the US and, in some cases, to humans. While Finland has not detected the virus in humans, the country is eager to roll out vaccinations given high transmission risks posed by its fur farms. Chief Physician Hanna Nohynek, at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, said to Reuters: “The conditions in Finland are very different in that we have fur farms where animals can end u.
