The Stockholm City Hall is lit up on Dec 5, 2020, with projections of images from and inspired by outer space, past of a series of installations across the Swedish capital celebrating discoveries awarded the Nobel Prize. (JONATHAN NACKSTRAND / AFP)

STOCKHOLM - The Blue Hall at the Stockholm City Hall, venue for the Nobel Banquet, is set to become a vaccination center in the battle against COVID-19, Swedish TT News Agency reported on Tuesday.

As the world is struggling to contain the virus, vaccination is underway in some countries with the already-authorized vaccines

From the end of this week, the Blue Hall will be used as a vaccination center for employees of nursing homes for the elderly, as local authorities have been scrambling for suitable premises to prioritize vaccination for around 58,000 employees of the municipal health and care system.

"The vaccination process is very demanding. Sports halls and large premises such as the Blue Hall are suitable for effective and infection-proof vaccinations. For me and the city of Stockholm, it is obvious we have to assist with the vital vaccination program during the spring," Municipal Commissioner for Finance of Stockholm Anna Konig Jerlmyr told local newspaper Mitti.

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This picture taken on Dec 10, 2018 shows a general view of the Nobel Prize banquet and its guests in the Stockholm City Hall, Sweden. (JONATHAN NACKSTRAND / AFP)

"The Blue Hall is large and well known and is not fully used today. It also has a central location and we think it is well suited to enable more people to quickly get the vaccine," she added.

As of Tuesday, Sweden has reported 556,289 COVID-19 cases with 11,247 deaths, according to the latest data from the Public Health Agency.

The country has introduced a temporary entry ban on arrivals from Britain, Norway and Denmark as more new COVID-19 variant cases have been found in Sweden.

As the world is struggling to contain the pandemic, vaccination is underway in some countries with the already-authorized coronavirus vaccines.

Meanwhile, 236 candidate vaccines are still being developed - 63 of them in clinical trials - in countries including Germany, China, Russia, Britain and the United States, according to information released by the World Health Organization on Jan 26.