Influenza and coronavirus vaccination campaigns brought forward to end of September

Vaccination campaigns against influenza and Covid 19 are progressing.The Public Health Commission, with representatives from all autonomous regions, initially set the date for its establishment in early October, but It finally starts in the last week of September.

This will be the third year that flu serum has been given alongside Covid 19. This is the fifth dose against the coronavirus.Also, one of the new things this year is Incorporate personnel from health facilities (e.g. pharmacies) into the target population. Likewise, the government aims to achieve vaccination coverage of 75% or above for the elderly, health and social care workers; and 60% for pregnant women and people with risk conditions.

They will be vaccinated according to each community organization, The “best” ones to adapt to the new variants will be. The modified Pfizer serum is the only one approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

On the other hand, this season’s calendar Includes respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine – Causes bronchiolitis – in infants younger than 35 weeks, severely immunosuppressed, Down syndrome, or receiving palliative care; up to six months.

public health committee Decided to use Befortus (nilvimab) From pharmaceutical company Sanofi, co-developed with AstraZeneca. Most areas will immunize the entire population under six months of age. Currently, only Galicia (about 3 million euros), Murcia (5.7 million euros), Andalusia (nearly 16 million euros), Madrid (10.8 million euros) and Asturias (more than 1 million euros) ) obtained the right to purchase vaccines.

However, according to the criteria set out in July, the Director of Public Health of the Ministry of Health and Communities said that taking into account “the uncertainty of the supply of medicines in Spain”, vaccination must start in children up to 24 months old with a high risk of serious disease. It is then passed to children under six months of age at the beginning of RSV season or during RSV season.

In addition, priority must be given to people born during this season, who must receive treatment “very early, preferably within the first 24-48 hours of life” as the severity of the disease is more severe in the first days of life .