Marje Oona, a member of the expert committee on immunoprophylaxis and a family doctor, said that the COVID-19 disease has become milder, and with it the committee updated its recommendations.

"We are recommending that elderly people and people with high-risk medical conditions, who are at risk of severe disease, get vaccinated against COVID-19 this autumn," the doctor explained in a press release sent by the Ministry of Social Affairs on Saturday.

"This is also in line with the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), as well as the practice in different countries," she said.

Oona said that COVID-19 and the flu vaccine can also be administered together on the same day, except that the injections must be given in different arms. "People who are not in the risk groups can get vaccinated against COVID-19 as well if their physician deems it is necessary," Oona added.

For this year's autumn-winter season, the expert committee suggests vaccinating against COVID-19 primarily with those vaccines that offer the greatest protection given the epidemiological situation and the COVID-19 strains in circulation.

"The Medicines Agency and the Health Insurance Fund (Tervisekassa) will notify the public when newer COVID-19 vaccines are licensed and available in Estonia," Oona said.

According to the Health and Welfare Information Systems Center (TEHIK), there are more than 355,000 people aged 60 plus in Estonia who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 or have had the disease more than six months since their last vaccination.

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