After influenza wave ends, 18,225 people vaccinated in on-site vaccination campaign

Immediately thereafter, on Monday the 15th, all health centers opened – and this remains the case – with the option of receiving a flu vaccine without an appointment, regardless of whether you are in a vulnerable group due to age or chronic illness. are health and social care professionals or security forces. This opening is during normal working hours from Monday to Friday and has successfully increased influenza vaccination coverage by 18,225 people. This is an important driver as such launches coincide with a decline in the acute respiratory infection curve, making participation less attractive. However, the vaccination coverage of previous seasons has not been reached, at least not yet. For example, an additional 4,823 people were vaccinated last year.

More women than men

The increase in vaccinations during the 10 working days from January 15 to 29 was distributed across age groups and was similar between men and women; although demand for doses has been much higher among women than among men since the start of the October campaign. The number of people who had the flu was 375,784, compared with 298,885 men; although in percentage terms it was higher starting in the 70s. 66.6% of people aged between 70 and 74 have worn it, and 80.6% of those over 70, while among women, this dropped to 64% and 77% respectively. The group between 5 and 59 years old, which enters the target group not by age but by illness or occupation and pregnancy, is the group with the largest increase, but the increase is not significant, from those above 15 years old. Men increased by 2 points and women increased by 1 point.

In terms of children’s coverage, new coverage this year includes children aged 6 to 59 months, but no major achievements have been made yet. Among children under one year old, health vaccination coverage reached 58%, an increase of nearly 2% over the two weeks, while among younger children in this age group, 55.4% of vaccinations were received, an increase of almost 2% over the two weeks. 1.2%. Between 2 and 5 years of age, coverage is even lower, at 38.9% for boys (but an increase of 2%) and 38% for girls (an increase of two percentage points).

The new vaccination campaign also coincides with the controversy over the mandatory wearing of masks, as the incidence in Castile and León was high but not actually significantly recorded, so a mandatory two-week drop was immediately added to eliminate it , and the measure lasted only six days. Then, after January 18 (the date of their withdrawal), it continued its downward trend to the point that the influenza epidemic itself, at least the first wave – a second wave cannot be completely ruled out – was already below the epidemic threshold.

Influenza cases dropped to just 48 cases per 100,000 inhabitants (236 cases two weeks ago) and are now falling to 4 cases. According to the Health Sentinel Network, the incidence of all infections is declining, adding up to just 623 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, although influenza-like syndrome is the most common in the sample, with an incidence rate of 16. The 2% positivity rate compares with the 6.7% positivity rate for COVID-19 or the 9.5% positivity rate for respiratory syncytial virus (bronchitis and bronchiolitis). The decrease in respiratory processes is significant.

As a result, the downward trend consolidated during the week of January 22-28 (the last data recorded in the balance sheet), with hospital emergency room and admission numbers peaking in the week of January 8 and having since dropped by more than 50%.

Transmission of metapneumovirus continues to increase among people under 5 years of age. The report added that this season’s flu wave “appears to have largely spared the over-65 population, although they have been affected, particularly by Covid-19.”