Flu vaccine has not fully penetrated children under 5 years of age, who were immunized against this respiratory virus for the first time in Extremadura. According to the latest data from the Ministry of Health, Only 30% of families decided to vaccinate their son or daughter aged 6 months to 5 years (59 months).This means that about 10,000 minors from Extremadura have been excluded from the target population of more than 34,000.
These data are related to Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccination coverage is highKnown as a vaccine against bronchiolitis, this was the first time Extremadura had received it, but 98.9% of the target population has been reached (Children under six months old and up to two years old if they have risk factors). The health department acknowledged that this good uptake “helps to reduce the pressure on primary and hospital care caused by bronchiolitis or pneumonia in infants”.
Flu vaccine coverage is also higher among people over 60covering 54% of the population last week, while among those under 60 with risk conditions, nearly 65% of the target group has been vaccinated.
As a result, flu immunization rates for young children are the least close to the expected figures, despite the fact that the campaign is still ongoing and the figures can still grow Respiratory viruses rebound as winter and the Christmas holidays arrive. That’s the advice of pediatricians, who encourage piercings to avoid major problems in young children and avoid hospital admissions.
This year marks the first time that healthy children under the age of 5 in Extremadura will receive the influenza vaccine. This is the first year, and as has already happened in other communities that began vaccinations last year, Falling short of expected data is to be expected.This is what happens in Galicia or Murcia, which broke ground in Spain last year. In both communities, half of the minors who were asked to be vaccinated were vaccinated.
possible reason
There are various reasons why the vaccine doesn’t work: the cold comes late, the pediatrician is involved, or other reasons. Children have lower awareness of flu severity compared to other viruses, such as RSVuntil Lack of institutional promotion Health authorities have criticized this childhood flu vaccine, as have the Spanish Pediatric Association and the Spanish Vaccinology Association.
The Ministry of Health last year approved the inclusion of healthy children as a risk group for this year, recalling in its presentation on the vaccine that although influenza has the “lowest” mortality rate among children under 15 (an estimated five deaths per year among children under five could die from this virus), yes Resulting in “significant primary care visits, antibiotic use and hospital admissions” Therefore, they should also be considered as a risk group. In addition to this, vaccinating children can directly reduce the spread of influenza because each winter, the smallest groups are the ones who are most affected by the virus.