It will start with nursing homes and expand to other groups from October 9, with vaccines being given free of charge and dispersed at health centers and clinics.
The Ministry of Health will start joint vaccinations against influenza and covid-19 in nursing homes from Monday. The campaign will be expanded to other target groups starting on October 9, with strategies designed to provide maximum protection for risk groups. On the other hand, immunization against the syncytial virus that causes bronchiolitis has also begun, and the vaccine will be available to all babies born since April 1 and other high-risk groups.
The vaccines will be free of charge and distributed at health centers and offices of the Principality’s Health Service (Sespa) until the end of the season. Those interested must make an appointment at their reference centre.
The health department is offering five flu vaccines for this campaign that best suit the needs of the population. Four of these were obtained through the Ministry of Health’s framework agreement for the selection of seasonal influenza vaccine suppliers, and the fifth, an intranasal vaccine, was obtained through an exclusively negotiated contract. These are basically quadrivalent inactivated virus vaccines. A total of 514,000 doses of vaccine were purchased for a global amount of €5,545,030.
On the other hand, the campaign against covid-19 will be carried out using the new improved messenger RNA vaccine, except for patients who must receive another type of vaccine due to special circumstances. The campaign is specifically targeted at people with medical indications, people aged 60 or over, people aged 50 or over in disability centers and nursing homes, and other long-term institutionalized people.
Also suitable for people under 60 years of age with diabetes, morbid obesity, chronic cardiovascular, neurological, renal, respiratory or neuromuscular disease, cancer or immunosuppression, people with risk conditions such as cognitive impairment, and those with any chronic Type of person with the disease, age or pregnant woman. Also suitable for people who live with others who are highly immunosuppressed.
On the other hand, in order to reduce the impact of the virus and maintain essential services, it also targets persons from public and private health and social health centers and institutions, persons working in essential public services – national security forces and institutions, armed forces units, Firefighters and Civil Defense Services.
In addition, influenza vaccination is recommended only for children aged 6 to 59 months, and for people aged 5 to 59 years who are at higher risk of complications from influenza (such as smokers, students working in health centers and the general public). – health personnel and persons with direct occupational contact with animals
On the other hand, this event will for the first time immunize newborns and infants against respiratory syncytial virus. The virus is a leading cause of bronchiolitis and respiratory infections in children under one year old and in adults. The target group is children at high risk of severe illness from the virus: premature babies under 35 weeks old, people with congenital heart disease or those at risk of bronchiolitis. Vaccination is also recommended for children under 6 months old born between April 1, 2023, and March 31, 2024 (the end date of the campaign). Babies born before October 2 will be immunized at primary health centers if they have been discharged from hospital. People born after this date will receive treatment as soon as possible (always before discharge).
In total, some 4,500 people are planned to be immunized, which is expected to prevent four out of five hospital admissions with bronchiolitis.