The development, production and deployment of a vaccine against COVID-19 requires international cooperation and solidarity, said Paivi Sillanaukee, director general at the Finnish Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, at a press conference here on Thursday, Trend reports citing Xinhua.
She said that the current international cooperation on vaccine development is already unprecedented.
However, she stressed the importance of solid international arrangements for the distribution and administration of any future vaccine. "Availability will be a practical question. Talks have taken place under the World Health Organization about the availability in the EU (European Union) and worldwide," she said.
According to Sillanaukee, the capabilities of the health care systems in different parts of the world are crucial, saying "It is those health care providers that will then vaccinate the population."
Finnish officials present at the press conference also discussed plans to produce a vaccine domestically. Finland ceased domestic production of vaccines some 15 years ago on cost grounds and has since relied on imported vaccines. However, Esa Heinonen, director at the Finnish Medicines Agency, said there are biomedical companies in Finland that would be able to start production if required.
Sillanaukee noted that Finland has yet to decide whether the whole population or just select groups should be vaccinated. She said she expected a vaccine to be available late this year or in early 2021. The final decision about Finland's vaccination policy rests with the country's parliament.
According to the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, as of Thursday afternoon, Finland had confirmed 7,064 COVID-19 infections, of which 24 were new. The death toll has reached 325, with one new fatality reported in the past 24 hours. Some 6,200 patients have recovered, representing 85 percent of the confirmed cases. To date, 211,900 people have been tested in Finland.