Nearly half of people over the age of 80 have received flu and coronavirus vaccinations in the first two weeks of the campaign.IPeople of this age group areAdditionally, those who most choose to receive both vaccines as other age groups prioritize flu immunization, Coronavirus prevention punctures aside, this will be the fourth in three years.
Vaccinations against COVID-19 and influenza begin as virus numbers rise
According to data provided by the Department of Health and Social ServicesAs of October 29 last year, 24,366 people over the age of 80 had been protected from these two viruses, with a coverage rate of 45.07%.. A further 7,273 people who have been ruled out as having COVID-19 have received a flu vaccine, raising protection against the latest virus in that age group to almost 60%. But it is worth noting that the campaign has started in nursing homes and health centers, with priority given to immunizing the elderly.
Vaccination coverage against both viruses begins to decline as age declines, as the youngest people currently choose to protect themselves only against influenza. In fact, of the 155,755 doses of both drugs administered so far, Nearly 61% are against the virus. Looking at the data, the Extremadura Health Service (SES) has administered 94,844 doses of influenza vaccine, compared with 60,951 doses of vaccine against coronavirus, a decrease of 33,893 doses. This means that, to date, overall influenza coverage has reached 24.63%; while covid coverage remains at 17.62%
Overall, looking only at flu protection, as of October 29, in addition to 31,639 people over the age of 80, 43,164 people between the ages of 60 and 80 and 17,513 People between the ages of 5 and 60 are considered at risk. An additional 2,528 children aged 6 to 59 months have received their first vaccination. This year, Extremadura has included protection for children under 5 years old and adjusted its vaccination schedule in line with new requirements from the Interregional Council for the National Health System. Although there is another inhaled version on the market, they also received an injectable demo. Currently, the coverage rate for minors is less than 7%.
By health sector, badajoz is the one with the most vaccinations (22,402), followed by Caceres (15,171) and Don Benito (14,513). Behind them are Placencia (11,527), Merida (11,187), Lereina Zafra (9,355), Coria (5,670) and Navarre Moral (5,019).
As for the new crown vaccine, it is also generally targeted at people over the age of 60. So far, in addition to 4,366 people over the age of 80, another 29,149 people between the ages of 60 and 80 have been vaccinated; in addition, there are 7,436 people aged 5 to 60 years with at-risk conditions are also recommended for protection. The SES estimates that one reason for the current low uptake of the drug may be that “if someone has the disease (coronavirus), they must wait at least three months before being vaccinated”. It must be taken into account that the current positivity rate for Extremadura virus is 15.8%, which is much higher than the 0.6% for influenza and the same as the positivity rate for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
Target audience is small
Among other things, they learned from the Extremadura Health Service that the target group of the coronavirus is smaller than that of the flu, as children aged 6 to 59 months are also recommended to be systematically vaccinated against the last four months. vaccines against diseases. It is only when this age group is at risk from smokers and teachers that they become infected with the coronavirus.
Regionally, Badajoz also leads in immunization with 13,088 doses administered; followed by Cáceres (10,591); Don Benito (9,936); Naval Moral (7,867); Merida (7,525); Lerena Zafra (4,932); Coria (3,561) and Placencia (3,451).
Extremadura vaccinated 21.5% of infants against RSV within three days
Another milestone this fall is the inclusion of a vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which causes bronchiolitis in infants, into the vaccination schedule. It will apply to all infants under 6 months of age and to infants under 24 months of age with risk factors associated with congenital heart disease, prematurity, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, severe immunosuppression and other conditions.
It is currently succeeding. The campaign started on October 31, and 1,293 doses have been administered in the first three days, which means that more than 21% of the target population has been protected. Specifically, 488 injections of 50 mg Beyfortus have been given to infants weighing less than 5 kg, and 805 injections of 100 mg have been given to infants weighing 5 kg or more.
Respiratory viruses continue to rise, with the incidence rate reaching 252.7
Respiratory viruses continue to increase in Extremadura. According to the Acute Respiratory Infection Surveillance System (Sivira), which tracks the evolution of influenza, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), on October 29 (the latest available data), there were 252 cases in the region, with a rate of 7 per 100,000 Residents, an increase of 30% from 15 days ago, and an increase of 13.37% from the previous week.
Among the three viruses, the new coronavirus once again became the most prevalent virus, with a positivity rate of 15.8%, while influenza and respiratory syncytial virus had a positivity rate of 0.6%.
On the other hand, the region once again has one of the highest numbers of hospital admissions for this reason: 13.7 cases per 100,000 inhabitants end up in hospital, which is four points higher than the national average (13.7).