“Failing Influenza Vaccination Campaign: Negligence or Mismanagement in Healthcare Systems?”

The lack of foresight and effective strategies in the influenza vaccination campaign has become evident now that healthcare systems are overloaded, especially in regions where pediatric beds are fully occupied. To be fair, it must be clarified that, in addition to influenza, the outbreak of the respiratory syncytial virus (which mainly affects young children and for which there is no vaccine) also came early, further aggravating the health situation.

Now, if the government authorities knew in advance that a more difficult winter was coming than the previous one, and taking into account what happened in the northern hemisphere with respiratory virusesWasn’t it possible, perhaps, to advance and reinforce the influenza vaccination campaign? Why is the vaccination process so slow? It has been pointed out that among the factors that have contributed to this delay are the delay in the start of the campaign by the government and the “fatigue” derived from the pandemic regarding vaccines (at this point it is difficult to dissociate COVID-19 from the word vaccine, and the association inevitably brings back bad memories). But won’t there be some negligence on the part of the authority? Or something, also, of mismanagement? Infectologists, for their part, have been emphatic in stressing the importance of vaccinating against influenza, especially the population at risk (children under 6 months to 5 years of age, schoolchildren from 1st to 5th grade, pregnant women, those over 65 years and the chronically ill), to avoid saturation of emergencies and hospitalizations. Why hasn’t a similar emphasis been heard from the authorities?

The figures in this matter are worrying. To date, only 60% of the population has been immunized, well below the goal proposed for June 1 of 85%. Within the general panorama, the lowest percentages occur in pregnant women and children from 6 months to 5 years. It is essential, in turn, that children be vaccinated, since they represent a significant part of critical hospitalizations, with a bed occupancy of more than 90%. What concrete measures will you take to achieve greater coverage of vaccinated people?

Targeted vaccination strategies with regional and municipal authorities, such as extending vaccination hours, opening vaccination centers on weekends, among others, can be extremely useful. But we have also heard the idea of ​​extending school holidays, as the College of Teachers and the president of the Medical College of the Biobío Region have proposed (he suggested extending them up to three months if necessary). It is unfortunate that, once again, the suspension of classes is being considered as a preventive measure. The school situation that has been dragging on since the pandemic is already serious enough to try to stop the health crisis on that side. The fact that children do not attend their schools, in addition to increasing the educational deficit in basic subjects such as reading, also entails the consequent loss of communities, of sports and extracurricular activities, of affective ties. We cannot normalize the closure of schools due to various circumstances that have occurred (narco-funerals) and that will continue to exist (respiratory viruses).

It’s crucial to recognize that bad decisions made in the past are beginning to have repercussions in the present. Learning losses and school absenteeism are evidence of this, as are the current difficulties in dealing with the untimely rise of viruses. We must learn from these mistakes and take steps to strengthen our health system and promote prevention through vaccination.

In summary, it is imperative to question the failures in the execution of the vaccination campaign and, although we are already late, rectify as much as possible. At this point, slogans or simple press points are no longer enough. Greater commitment and concrete actions are required from the authorities to reach the proposed goal of vaccinating 85% of the population at risk. But what is clear is that diverting the focus and proposing measures that sound like “hibernation” (3 months), ends up undermining aspects that supposedly concern the government a lot: education and health (including mental health).It is not fair that children continue to pay the consequences of this lack of management in areas as relevant as those mentioned.