At-risk groups

The priority groups for swine flu vaccination (prevention) and the groups who are given antiviral drugs (at-risk groups) differ from each other to some extent.

Who will be vaccinated and in what order?

1. Frontline health and social care workers treating and caring for infected patients or patients exposed to infections, ambulance staff, and pharmacy staff attending to customers

2. Pregnant women

3. Persons aged from six months to 64 years who due to an underlying medical condition belong to an at-risk group. This group includes people with a heart or lung disease requiring regular medication, a metabolic disease, chronic liver failure or chronic kidney disease, an immune system disease, a condition whose treatment reduces the immune response, or a chronic neurological or neuromuscular disease.
More information: People who belong to an at-risk group due to an underlying medical condition > LINKKI

4. Healthy children aged from 6 to 35 months

5. Healthy children and young people aged from 3 to 24 years as well as conscripts

6. Persons aged 65 and over who due to an underlying medical condition belong to an at-risk group.

Who will receive antivirals?

People should seek medical attention if they belong to any of the groups below, or if they experience severe symptoms.

At-risk groups include:

  • pregnant women
  • people with one or more of the following chronic diseases:
    • a heart disease requiring regular medication (not mild arterial hypertension), a lung disease (regular asthma medication) or diabetes
    • chronic liver failure or chronic kidney disease
    • an immune system disease, such as leukaemia, lymphoma or HIV
    • a condition whose treatment reduces the immune response (organ transplantation, cytostatics, TNF-alpha blocker, corticosteroids >15 mg/day for more than two weeks, or other such treatment)
    • a chronic neurological or neuromuscular disease
    • morbid obesity (BMI > 40)

 

When to seek medical care (contact your local health centre)

Contact your local health centre for information about whether you belong to an at-risk group and the dates and locations of vaccination.