Community Madrid to start autumn vaccination campaignand winter Infants under six months old will be vaccinated against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in October next year, alongside the traditional flu vaccination campaign for minors, and a third Covid-19 booster dose for high-risk groups.
On the same Tuesday, the 12th, the Public Health Committee, composed of representatives of all autonomous regions and the Ministry of Health, will discuss updating the criteria for the next influenza and Covid-19 vaccination campaign.
For its part, the autonomous community of Madrid, which is finalizing its organization, plans to start immunizing babies born under six months old against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which causes bronchiolitis and pneumonia, on October 1. Starting in April this year.
In this sense, The community has invested €10.8 million in purchasing 50,000 doses of infant bronchiolitis vaccine. RSV is a common infectious seasonal pathogen that infects the lower respiratory tract and causes annual epidemics worldwide, most commonly affecting infants.
Generally speaking, the number of case detections begins to increase in October and reaches the peak of the epidemic from December to January. In Spain, 78% of severe bronchiolitis cases are caused by RSV, and it is estimated that nearly 10% of healthy hospitalized children require intensive care.
In the Autonomous Community of Madrid, the highest incidence rates of bronchiolitis episodes, both in primary care and in emergency admissions, are among children under 2 years of age, and especially in children under one year of age.
Specifically, vaccinations will begin on October 1 for people born on April 1 or later. People born between that date and September 30 will be screened at five self-designated public hospitals.
As far as he is concerned, People born between October 1 and March 31 should receive immunization in the maternity wards of various public hospitals before discharge or by making an appointment on their own.
flu campaign
As for the next 2023/2024 influenza campaign, as a novelty this time it will reach the children aged 6 months to 59 months (4 years to 11 months) for the first time. In this case, both for adults and for minors in this age group, it will start in late October.
For adults, it will target people over 60 and those in high-risk groups.. The final group includes people with chronic diseases, pregnant women, health professionals, social health workers, caregivers and essential service workers, among others.
As in other cases, it will be carried out at local health centers and clinics in the Autonomous Community of Madrid, the City Council Health Center, the Vaccination Center of the Autonomous Community of Madrid and other authorized vaccination points. If you are an elderly person, it can also be done in a nursing home.
The regional government has invested 18.9 million euros in purchasing 1.6 million doses of influenza vaccine, an amount sufficient to meet the needs of the population it targets, considering that 1.4 million citizens were vaccinated during the last vaccination campaign. in this area.
According to data from the Ministry of Health’s latest epidemiological bulletin, 40,791 cases of influenza have been recorded so far this year, while 11,893 cases were recorded during the same period in 2022.
Last week, from August 28 to September 3, the number of influenza cases reported through the EDO surveillance system (notifiable diseases) was 71, an increase of 12 cases from the previous week. This brings the cumulative number of cases in the 2022/2023 season to 58,916.
New crown strengthens
At the same time as this flu vaccination campaign begins, a third booster dose against Covid-19 will also begin for high-risk groups. That is, the elderly over 60 years old, patients with chronic diseases and social health personnel.
In this context, the latest official data from the Ministry of Health show that the number of cases has continued to increase in recent weeks, until the 14-day cumulative number of cases per 100,000 inhabitants reached 232.1, of which 2,065 were among people over 60 years old. The region saw an increase of 23.8% from August 28 to September 3 compared with the previous week.
Immunizations will be carried out at local health centers and clinics, nursing homes, town hall health centres, vaccination centers of the Autonomous Community of Madrid and other authorized vaccination sites.
Dedicated COVID-19 points will also be activated at Zendal Hospital on a case-by-case basis for social care staff (old people’s homes and residential care centres) and mutual benefit members.
The report “Recommendations for Seasonal Influenza and Covid-19 Vaccination in Spain 2023-2024”, published about two months ago, takes into account the epidemiological situation at that time and recommends vaccination against Covid-19 in the autumn – winter (2023-) for the target group. 2024), excluding children and adults who do not belong to the target population.
Last year, special emphasis was placed on improving vaccination coverage against this virus due to the observed synergistic effects between influenza viruses and SARSCoV-2 (a two-fold increase in the risk of death if infected simultaneously). Influenza, especially in the field of health, social health workers, the elderly, especially those over 65 years old, and people of any age with risk conditions.
The aim of the campaign is to protect those most vulnerable to influenza, minimize morbidity in target groups and help reduce the impact on healthcare pressures.