Coronavirus vaccination registration opened for people 40 and over on Thursday morning. By 7.30 a.m. queues had already formed to enter the Patient Portal.
ERR s Estonian news portal wrote that the wait to enter the online registration system was 12 minutes at 7.20 a.m. By 9 a.m. the wait had grown to 40 minutes.
While vaccination will start for everyone in the 16-49 age group on Monday (May 17), the over 40s can register from today. Registration will open to the under 40s on Monday.
Head of the vaccination strategy Marek Seer said this staggered approach has been taken so the system does not become overwhelmed.
Starting Monday, two mass vaccination centers will be opened in Tallinn - one in Mustamäe and the other in Lasnamäe. As planned, a person administering the vaccines at the center should be capable of inoculating 15 people in an hour.
While the burden of vaccinating people in Tallinn has so far fallen on the shoulders of family physicians and hospitals, two vaccination centers will be opened in the capital city next week - open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The Kaja cultural center (Kaja Kultuurikeskus) in Mustamäe will be operated by the West Tallinn Central Hospital, vaccinations at the Tondiraba Ice Hall (Tondiraba spordihall) will open on Tuesday as medics at the East Tallinn Central Hospital are occupied with frontline vaccinations to start the week.
People aged 16-49 will be allowed to register for coronavirus vaccinations starting May 17, it was agreed on Monday by the vaccination workgroup.
The workgroup discussed if the 40-49 age group should be vaccinated ahead of those under 40, but decided against it.
On May 17, everyone under 50 will be able to register for vaccination as time slots become available on the Patient Portal. Time slots are dependent on vaccine deliveries.
From Thursday (May 13), the over 40s will be able to register for a time slot and those under 40 can do so from Monday (May 17).
Additionally, vaccines will no longer be split evenly across the country and more will be directed to bigger population centers.
From Thursday, (May 13), people over 40 can register for a coronavirus vaccination through the digital registration system. The under 40s can sign up from Monday (May 17).
While everyone will be able to get vaccinated from Monday, the staggered registration has been created to reduce the burden on the digital registration system on the Patient Portal, the Ministry of Social Affairs said in a statement on Tuesday.
Marek Seer, head of the COVID-19 vaccination team, is asking people to be patient. Nearly 500,000 people are still waiting for vaccination and those who wish will certainly receive a vaccination during May and June, said Seer, But we can t accept everyone right away, new times are opening up in the digital registry according to how vaccines arrive and are added every week.