Two-thirds of hospitalized patients are healthy children

The flu has “Underdiagnosed and undervalued” The same is true in the pediatric population, when it’s more than just a cold and fever: incidence rates exceed 45%, and seven out of ten hospital admissions (the same as in adults) occur in otherwise healthy children with no risk factors.

This was underscored by paediatricians and nurses at the General Nursing Council’s Pediatric Flu Vaccination conference in partnership with AstraZeneca, where they highlighted the mistakes of downplaying the virus and the Importance of vaccinations for children and adults.

Jaime Pérez, President of the Spanish Vaccinology Association, emphasized that in Spain, influenza causes an average of 58,640 primary care visits and 4,239 hospital admissions in children under 5 years of age each year, of which 822 are seriously ill and 249 are admitted to the ICU. ev).

This is the group at highest risk for complications. An average of eight children under 5 years old die each year (the number for the entire pediatric age group is 20 to 30), but in the 2017-2018 season, the number reached 56.Vaccine reduces hospital admissions by 93%

Inactivated and attenuated intranasal vaccine coverage reaches 56% Currently effective at 76%Emilio Velasco, deputy director of care management and health care in the fourth region of Oviedo, highlighted that the number of visits to primary schools has been reduced by 90%, emergencies by 74% and hospital admissions by 93%.

And taking these drugs was not associated with an increase in respiratory infections, febrile seizures or autoimmune diseases.

Each season, the outbreak in children occurs two weeks earlier than the outbreak in adults, meaning disease vectors; At the beginning, more than 60% of the infected were children under the age of 14, who “played a fundamental role in the process of transmission to susceptible groups” and led to a large consumption of health resources.

Francisco Álvarez, a member of the Vaccine Advisory Committee of the Spanish Association of Pediatrics (AEP), warned: “Influenza is not a banal disease, but an unpredictable threat.” Experts recall 0-4 years old and 5-17 years old are the groups with the highest cumulative incidence rate

this number exceeds 45%.

Although minor occurrences are normal, ‘Can cause serious complications’: The hospitalization rate for children under 2 years old equals or even exceeds that for children over 65 years old, reaching 40 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, but the majority are healthy: two-thirds have no prior risk factors.

The same situation occurred in the ICU, where 56% of minors admitted with influenza had no previous illness.coverage problem

Given these data, “Children must be vaccinated”Protect them first, and then their environment, which may be full of vulnerable people, like their grandparents, who also have to protect themselves through piercing.

For the first time this season, children’s flu vaccines are available for children ages 5 to 59 months, and will be paid for by all communities.

This year it will also coincide with the first respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) immunization for infants under six months of age, with experts lamenting a drop in coverage following the coronavirus outbreak and waiting to see how the campaign unfolds. “We are racking our brains to find strategies, The best strategy is an epidemicVelasco said sarcastically.

In 2021, when influenza and COVID-19 broke out at the same time, the total coverage rate for people over 65 years old was close to 70%, and the coverage rate for medical staff exceeded 60%; a year later, these proportions dropped to 64% and 54% respectively.

Velasco said increased awareness of the seriousness and effectiveness of the drug would increase coverage, “and that’s getting vaccinated without hesitation.” The important role played by healthcare professionals Raise rates.

Experts also recommend creating a Common calendar for all communitiesThis way they can simultaneously target the same target groups and treat them with the same drugs, because cases like pneumococci “absolutely It’s chaos.” Annawak).