Extremadura purchases more than 340,000 doses of vaccine for influenza vaccination campaign

Three vaccines were purchased for the anti-influenza campaign, based on the vaccines required for those to be immunized. On the one hand, we purchased 260,000 doses of vaccine from Sanofi-Aventis at a cost of €1,270,880 (including VAT) for the majority of recipients of the vaccination campaign. In addition, 80,000 doses of a vaccine with high antigenic capacity were purchased from the same pharmaceutical company at a cost of 2 million euros for use in people in need of immune boosters.

The doses are intended for the hospitalized population 65 and older, as well as all people 80 and older “because they are at greater risk of complications from the flu,” according to documents released about the purchase. ».

On the other hand, in the third contract released, Salud purchased 300 doses of vaccine from Seqirus Spain, SL, worth 2,310 euros, for people allergic to egg protein, who are among the target groups of the seasonal influenza vaccination campaign. Be guided. Generally speaking, people over 60 years old and children under 60 years old, starting from babies 6 months old and above, will develop some pathological conditions. It also includes people working in essential public services, such as health workers and teachers, as well as state security forces and agencies, firefighters and civil defense personnel.

Influenza is an acute viral infection that occurs every winter and can cause “a high morbidity and a number of direct and indirect deaths, the latter mainly due to the large number of complications caused by the disease in the elderly and those with chronic diseases.” » .

Therefore, the government promotes prevention through immunization and encourages people to get vaccinated. The report explains that in order to prevent and control influenza, it is necessary to purchase vaccines. “To avoid its complications, the most important and effective measure is vaccination.”

novelty

It is for this reason that, unlike what happened in the region last year, this year for the first time the campaign will cover all children under the age of five in the region, in line with recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Union. For example, only minors who belong to risk groups in that age group, such as those with asthma or those with heart disease, are vaccinated.

In this case, however, the vaccine is not injected but rather through the nose, as with a spray. To date, there are no contracts on the public sector procurement platform for the planned purchase of intranasal vaccines for these minors, which were recently awarded approve. Although the Ministry of Health clarified that “these vaccines were received directly from the Ministry of Health,” there are no purchase documents for the purchase of COVID-19 booster doses on the above-mentioned platforms. It should be remembered that last year’s seasonal flu campaign ran in parallel with the coronavirus campaign, so people who were advised to have both vaccines were able to get them at the same time. Salud expects to do the same this year and is expected to start before the end of October.