Supporting the community with vaccination sites in cooperation with the local authorities

Supporting the communities that surround our centres can mean different things in different times. Cooperating with the local municipalities in opening vaccination sites into our centres is an excellent example on how we can contribute to keeping our communities safe.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, health and safety at the centres have been a top priority for Citycon.
In practice this has meant that we have had a strong focus on cleaning and disinfection. We have continuously communicated safety message to our customers through different means and cooperated with our tenants and the local health authorities in things concerning the pandemic.

But when given a chance, we wanted to do more.

We decided to initiate a dialogue with different municipalities regarding the possibility of establishing COVID-19 vaccination services at our centres. The discussions advanced quickly and during the year 2021 we established COVID-19 vaccination services to six of our Nordic centres in cooperation with the local authorities.

We agreed with the municipalities to use premises at Iso Omena, Trio, IsoKristiina, Myyrmanni, and Koskikeskus in Finland, and Stovner Senter in Norway as vaccination sites. The sites are used by the local health authorities.

Keeping our communities safe

At Citycon we consider it very important to engage in a dialogue with the communities surrounding our centres. Our goal is to make our centres true community hubs.

We also host numerous healthcare units and services in our centres around the Nordics. In 2021, about 4% of our rented space was devoted to health care services.

The vaccination sites’ lease agreements with municipalities in Finland and Norway are excellent examples of how local cooperation can be a contribution in keeping the communities safe. Our centres are placed in the heart of the communities, and they are integrated with the public transport system. They are also accessible by other means of transport such as bicycles and passenger cars.

The location of the centres and the community surrounding them ensure that the local health authorities can carry out the vaccinations from accessible and safe premises. We will keep an open mind for services that address the needs of the community in the future as well.