There were 40,702 vaccine doses administered last week, which is down 5 percent from the week prior, when 42,673 doses were administered.

The number of first vaccine doses administered to previously unvaccinated people went down by some 20 percent - from 7,727 two weeks ago to 6,120 last week.

"We see the number of first doses is clearly linked to society's sense of danger. The spread of the coronavirus has lessened in the previous weeks and the number of first vaccine doses is also down. Our job is to ensure that as many people as possible get vaccinated regardless of the decreased sense of danger in society," Ministry of Social Affairs vaccination spokesperson Kadri Hansalu told ERR.

She said vaccine availability is the key factor in increasing vaccination rates. "What is also clear is that people still unvaccinated today must be approached more personally and the role of advising is more and more important," the social ministry spokesperson said.

The number of first vaccine doses can also be linked to the end of the two-week family physician vaccination drive from October 27 to November 5.

Hansalu noted that the vaccination drive was successful and added that physicians will be paid bonuses for high vaccination rates in their registries until the end of the year. The government has allocated €5 million for the purpose, set to be paid out if certain criteria is filled.

While people could go to any physician during the vaccination drive, family physicians must now only vaccinate the people in their registry. "During the stage of calling patients, times for the next vaccinations were also agreed to and calling will not stop. The Health Insurance Fund also helps physicians here, but it is clear that a direct line from physicians has the best effect," Hansalu said.

The social ministry spokesperson added that vaccination points will continue vaccinating and cooperation with local municipalities and employers will continue to find vaccination options and solutions.

As of Monday, 58.7 percent of the population have completed their vaccination process. In total, 822,112 people have been vaccinated with at least one dose.

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