A flu vaccination campaign targeting children under five in Asturias has failed. Nearly all pediatricians in the region agree with this assessment, noting that the reason for the poor results is that the new health initiative did not provide families with an appropriate information plan. Francisco Álvarez García, a pediatrician at the Lugo de Llanera Health Center and coordinator of the Vaccine Advisory Committee of the Spanish Pediatric Association, said influenza vaccine coverage in the 6- to 59-month age group barely reaches 30%.
The Association of Primary Care Pediatrics of Asturias insists that “information about the new indications for vaccination of healthy children under five years of age has not been communicated to families.” This negative assessment does not include children at risk, a group that “has not been communicated to families for many years.” I have been getting the flu vaccine every year and will continue to do so.”
Paediatricians at the regional health center emphasized that they and the nurses in their team “have reported vaccination when they come for consultation for other reasons, but we cannot reach all families.” There is a certain rejection of vaccination and a lack of belief that this is a serious disease in children.”
Last autumn, the Principality’s Ministry of Health included influenza vaccination for children aged 6 to 59 months for the first time. On October 20, 2022, the Health Committee reviewed and approved the technical document recommending influenza vaccination for children. The decision was made because influenza causes “significant hospitalizations, doctor visits and antibiotic consumption among otherwise healthy children.”
According to Francisco Alvarez, Andalusia, Murcia and Galicia began vaccinating people in the above age groups against influenza last year, with “coverage reaching about 50%.” In Asturias, it was expected to reach 75% this autumn, but the actual figure is much lower. “People still think that the flu is a cold with a fever and that it doesn’t matter,” says Lugo delranela’s pediatrician. “We have an effective and safe flu vaccine, but people are not afraid of the flu,” he added. Dr Alvarez confirmed that Asturian health authorities “have not yet launched any information campaign to promote this vaccination”.
In the face of this failure, the use of antibodies against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)—often called the “bronchiolitis vaccine,” which is not really a vaccine—“has been a resounding success because our coverage The rate reaches 97%,” said the coordinator of the Vaccine Advisory Committee of the Spanish Pediatric Association, “percentage of babies under six months of age.”
Venancio Martínez Suárez, a pediatrician from the El Llano Health Center (Gijon), also said that the influenza vaccine “has been better studied than the COVID-19 vaccine in terms of effectiveness and safety.” Furthermore, current data suggests that children, particularly those under five, are “not at increased risk of severe Covid-19 infection”. However, “due to the risk of severe influenza, children remain a priority group for influenza vaccination, especially those aged six months to two years,” Venancio Martinez asserted.
The pediatrician from El Llano puts the data on the table: “If approximately 400,000 children are born every year in Spain, we know that four to five of them will die from microbiologically confirmed influenza before the age of two. Moreover, in hospital Of the children, 43% will be healthy and have no previous underlying medical conditions.