Piece work. No rush, but no pause. Community health centers are now in full swing for this year’s most important fall vaccine protection campaign, administering influenza vaccines simultaneously to many patients in designated target groups.
Since the beginning of this month, the most vulnerable groups – residents of senior citizen centers – have been protected, with increased protection for those aged 85 and over beginning on October 9th, and increased protection for high-risk groups, Protection of key personnel (health workers). , firefighters, police officers…), people over 60 years old, and healthy children between 6 and 59 months old.
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Children 6 to 23 months
Intramuscular injection. It’s also tetravalent – against four different types of viruses (two influenza A viruses and two influenza B viruses – the same as adult viruses and has the same ingredients.
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Children 24 to 59 months
Attenuated intranasal influenza vaccine. Fluenz Tetra, marketed exclusively by AstraZeneca.
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Adults aged 65 to 84
Intramuscular injection. Adjuvanted quadrivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (aQIV).
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Over 85 years old
Intramuscular injection. High-dose quadrivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (QIV-HD).
“We still don’t have coverage data for nursing homes as that data is being collected now, but in these centers coverage is often over 90% or even 95% because they are patients who are being admitted to institutions in addition to being more at risk. “The vaccination campaign has begun to proceed smoothly, despite the fact that it has not yet reached the majority of the population,” explained Eva Martínez Ochoa, general manager of the Public Health Unit.
low circulation
In this sense, health officials estimate that in the first few days, 8,660 doses of influenza vaccine have been administered in Rioja health centers.
With the Pilar Bridge in the middle, vaccinations are expected to accelerate in the coming days, especially after a long summer where the weather seems to be heading towards conditions more common for these dates, with cooler temperatures and more rainfall . Miguel. Fall weather may increase the spread of influenza viruses, but so far there are few clues. “The virus has begun to spread, but the incidence is certainly not high, not to mention that we are still in the epidemic phase, although we know that this situation may change in a week,” the general manager clarified.
It therefore insists on protecting the most vulnerable as a priority. “It is very important that all high-risk groups are vaccinated to minimize the impact of the disease on their condition, and obviously everyone who lives or works with susceptible people. The more people who are vaccinated, the better the virus will be. the less transmission there is,” said Martínez Ochoa, who added, “That is why for the first time in this campaign pediatric vaccination is included, targeting children between 6 and 59 months old, because it is the first time that children develop complications. and groups at higher risk of hospital admission, and because this group is particularly likely to be one of the main spreaders of the disease.
The expert recalled that 109,000 doses of vaccine are currently available, with the possibility of obtaining more. “The campaign has not yet set an end date, it was originally the end of December, but we decided not to close it because the virus continues to spread” . Later spread. “