They recommend a flu vaccine for all children and a COVID-19 vaccine for the elderly and those with medical conditions

Virologists, pediatricians, vaccine experts say this fall Flu and COVID-19 vaccinations won’t be widely availablebecause the two are “complementary” despite their “minor differences”.

So, on the one hand, they recommend getting the seasonal flu vaccine when: “All” children six months to five years old, is the age group most affected by this infection. On the other hand, they said the coronavirus vaccine would only be aimed at the “target population”, that is, those with risk factors such as age or previous medical history.

he explained it like this Raúl Ortiz de Lejarazu, Scientific Advisor and Honorary Director, National Influenza Center of ValladolidWith David Moreno, Coordinator of Andalusia’s Corona Vaccination Program and Vaccine Advisor to the Spanish Pediatric Association, and Ignacio Salamanca, Laboratory Coordinator of the Seville Pediatric Institute Together.

The three appeared in front of the media while participating in the “Ninth Vaccine Update and New Approach Conference”.Two years after the pandemic, the vaccination program has changed, and the course is taught at the school Menendez Pelayo International University.

Unlike Covid, the Influenza Center and UIMP course director noted, “Flu Kills Healthy Children”Because, depending on the severity of the virus and the conditions it causes, between nine and fourteen children and adolescents die each year, and “half” of them have no previous risk factors.

He therefore recalled the World Health Organization’s recommendations in this regard more than a decade ago, explaining: Influenza ‘is not a disease of the elderly’.

For now, they compare, while the flu virus infects three out of 10 minors, it only affects 10 percent of those over 18, despite In people over 65, it can cause death.

after noticing this Flu and COVID-19 vaccinations are ‘parallel’ but not ‘identical’

Ortiz said a vaccine against the coronavirus, targeting the elderly and vulnerable groups as well as health workers, is a priority for the World Health Organization this year and represents a “deficit” for “vaccinated” countries like Spain.

Virologists explain that 75% to 80% of the population in rich countries is immune to the new coronavirus because they have been infected with the virus, vaccinated, or both, which is why now Advise only for the target grouplike old people.

As he warns, age is a risk factor because after age 65, the death rate of infected people increases by 1.5% every five years, so these people should not “no doubt” when vaccinated.

The pediatrician also recommends the COVID-19 vaccine for people with conditions such as congenital immunodeficiency or undergoing treatments such as chemotherapy.

new crown virus for life

As for the pandemic itself, Ortiz said that although the acute phase of the virus has passed, it is moving towards a post-pandemic phase. “Has been with us for a lifetime”because it is “difficult” to eliminate those factors that affect humans.

However, his prediction for the next decade is that it “probably” will be better suited to our species as well as vaccines, and will have its “niches affected”.