The Extremadura Health Service (SES) has completed its influenza vaccination campaign but has not yet reached the goals set. It falls far short of its announced coverage. It has failed to successfully vaccinate 75% of people over 60, who are most vulnerable to the disease. Specifically, 56.6% have been vaccinated.
According to the Ministry of Health, the campaign has been extended from October 16 to February 1, during which 259,060 people have been vaccinated against influenza.
Among the population over 80 years old, this proportion does not reach 75%. In this case, the coverage rate is 71.8%, which is high but not enough.
Similarly, the coverage rate for people aged 60 to 64 years is also very low, not reaching 35%. Among those aged 65 or older, the rate remained at 64.3%.
The only group where vaccination rates are meeting expectations are people under 60 who have medical conditions that increase their risk of getting the flu. In this case, around 75%, SES is expected to be 60%.
It must be remembered that SES invested 3.35 million euros in this campaign, purchasing 340,300 doses of influenza vaccine. This is 27,000 more than the previous year.
As a result, there are 80,000 doses left in this vaccination campaign, and the vaccination volume is also lower than in the previous campaign, when nearly 64% of people over 60 years old received the influenza vaccine.
It must be remembered that it was during the last season that the SES reached the highest influenza vaccination rates among people over 60 years of age since at least 2010, exceeding the 49% to 55% percentage recorded in Extremadura. season.
This time, faced with low coverage and an increase in respiratory infections, the SES launched an extraordinary campaign of walk-in vaccinations and administered 3,043 doses in one week. However, while the people of Extremadura did respond to the SES’s call, this was not enough to achieve the stated goals.
children
Finally, this year, for the first time, the SES is offering universal influenza vaccination to children aged six months to five years, without the need for them to have a dangerous medical condition. However, it was not popular with families with children in the area and few received it. Specifically, only 34%.
Their campaign against Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) has been successful, with almost 100% of the region’s target group of people under six months of age and children with risk factors being targeted against the virus that commonly causes most bacterial infections. Immunization against bronchitis infections.
Finally, regarding COVID-19 vaccination, SES has also fallen short of its target, having vaccinated 42% of people over 60 years old. Minors younger than that age and with risk factors accounted for 30.5% of coronavirus vaccinations.
A total of 162,613 people have been vaccinated against COVID-19. Although the campaign has ended, the target group (over 60 years old or under 60 years old with risk factors) who have not been vaccinated for three months due to infection will be able to receive the vaccine. People who request it after an individualized evaluation by a doctor can also get the vaccine.