MADRID (EFE) – The Madrid community will start its annual joint vaccination campaign against influenza and covid-19 on October 16, which will last until January 31 this year.
The announcement was made by Health Minister Fátima Matute at the plenary session of the Madrid Parliament, where she noted that “the regional administration’s first priority is the elderly, so they will first provide services for people living in residential Services are provided to people aged 65 and over, and health and social hygiene staff. “
Once this group is covered, it will be expanded to other groups with recommendations, such as people between 60 and 64 years old or those under 60 with underlying medical conditions, as well as pregnant women, the local government detailed in a statement.
To this end, the Madrid community has invested 19 million euros and purchased 1.6 million doses of vaccine, 100,000 more than in 2022.
The vaccines are divided into 850,000 doses of adjuvanted quadrivalent influenza vaccine for people aged 65 or older and 750,000 doses of quadrivalent influenza vaccine for other target groups of the campaign.
Protect against new variants
Regarding the prevention of coronavirus, doses suitable for the new Ómicron variant (XBB1.5) will be administered in accordance with national and international recommendations.
As always, the vaccine is distributed to all autonomous communities by the Ministry of Health and to the different immunization points by the General Directorate of Public Health of Madrid.
The process will be carried out again in nursing homes, primary health care centers and Madrid community vaccination centres.
Health personnel will do so at their workplace and, in the case of mutual members and social health personnel, at the location established at the Enfermera Isabel Zendal Public Hospital.
Speaking at the regional parliament, Matute stressed the importance of childhood vaccinations.
“This season, for the first time, we are including children between 6 months and 4 years old in our efforts to combat seasonal influenza,” he said. For this purpose, 30,000 intranasal children’s anti-flu doses are available.
Immunization against the virus that causes bronchiolitis
Likewise, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) immunization will begin on October 2 to reduce the impact of bronchiolitis in infants under six months of age.
The Madrid region is the pioneer of this initiative in Spain, which will be carried out in the public hospitals of the capital La Paz, Gregorio Marañon, Nino Jesus and 12 de Octubre, as well as in the Puerta de Hierro Majadahonda, with the purchase of 50,000 doses of vaccine. Governor of Madrid.
Last season, bronchiolitis resulted in more than 3,600 hospitalizations and 300 admissions to the intensive care unit (ICU).Effie