As fall approaches, COVID-19 cases continue to rise: Should seniors be worried?
Many people will be wondering when this year’s flu vaccination campaign will start, and this year it will also coincide with the Covid-19 vaccination campaign.Just this Tuesday, the Public Health Council, representing all autonomous regions and the Ministry of Health, updated the criteria for the next influenza and Covid-19 vaccination campaign and It has been agreed that from the last week of September, Instead of the previous date of October, given the surge in cases in recent weeks.
Newly updated document “Spain Seasonal Influenza and COVID-19 Vaccination Recommendations for 2023-2024”, The target group includes people from “health facilities”, For example, those working in pharmacies, who join already identified vulnerable groups, among which Over 60 years, high-risk groups, pregnant women and health and social care workers.
This will be the second dual vaccination campaign and the first to use a vaccine formulated from a Spanish formula Shipra and was approved last April.
Elderly people are targeted in vaccination campaigns
The Ministry of Health document also takes into account the epidemiological situation of Covid-19 and identifies “target population” groups that should be prioritized for these vaccines, with special emphasis on people over 60 years old, those with “risk conditions” or those who are pregnant. Therefore it is stipulated that “Nursing homes and other centers that provide care for people with disabilities and those aged 80 and older may be prioritized for vaccinations. Health and social care staff may also be prioritized for vaccination due to the “strategic importance” they play.
It also states that “vaccination will continue until the end of the season. A dose of vaccine against Covid-19 can be given outside the vaccination campaign to people who request it after an individualized assessment. In these cases, the interval (at least 5 months) from the previous dose or infection must be taken into account”, concluded the Inter-territorial Committee. However, experts agree that booster vaccines should not be administered to the entire population, but only to Booster vaccines for the most commonly vaccinated groups. Vulnerability, detailed analysis of each case.
Who is the vaccine for?
for him Increased risk of complications or serious illness Health authorities recommend getting vaccinated if you have the flu or Covid-19 infection Persons aged 60 or above also to people sanitarium inmates and centers for people with disabilities, as well as other long-term residents and residents of closed institutions.
For people under 60 years of age with at-risk conditions, public health recommends vaccination for: “diabetes and Cushing’s syndrome, morbidly obesechronic cardiovascular, neurological or respiratory diseases, including bronchopulmonary dysplasia, cystic fibrosis and asthma, chronic kidney disease and nephrotic syndrome, hemoglobinopathies and anemia or hemophilia, other coagulation disorders and chronic bleeding disorders, as well as recipients of blood products and multiple transfusions, asplenia or severe splenic dysfunction, chronic liver diseaseincluding chronic alcoholism and severe neuromuscular disorders,” the document lists.
Also includes Immunosuppression, cancer and hematological malignancies, cerebrospinal fluid fistulas and cochlear implants or waiting, celiac disease, chronic inflammatory diseases, and conditions and diseases that lead to cognitive impairment.at the end of this list Pregnant women are also recommended to be vaccinated “Women in any trimester of pregnancy and the puerperium (up to 6 months postpartum and not vaccinated during pregnancy) and People who live with someone who is highly immunosuppressed.
Epidemiologist calls for latest vaccine
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) both recommend vaccines for the next season 2023-2024 Unit price and XBB sub-variant omicron strains, preferably XBB.1.5, Ensures protection against circulating strains. However, so far, no vaccine that meets these requirements has been approved.
Experts such as Salvador Peiró, an epidemiologist and researcher at the Foundation for the Promotion of Community Health and Biomedical Research in Valencia, agree (@GVAfisabio) Who recommends Immunize risk groups “if possible” with a monovalent vaccine against XBB (the currently circulating variant) Already put into production. “If hospitalizations increase significantly before these new vaccines become available, it may be necessary to use stockpiled vaccines prepared against the original virus and omicron variants,” he admitted.