Wednesday, November 29, 2023, 11:19 p.m.
Despite being part of a risk group, only half of the people over 60 years of age in the province of Granada have, for now, received the flu vaccine. 52.9%, to be exact, according to data provided by the Health Department of the Government of Andalusia. In the case of covid, they have also registered a low vaccination percentage (37.6%).
Faced with this “resistance”, the director of the vaccination campaign in Andalusia, David Moreno, has called on Granada residents of this age to protect themselves for this winter. “Until last year, we vaccinated against flu starting at 65, but for covid and pneumococcus we already started at 60. We have lowered it because it is where pneumonia and flu complications begin to increase,” he explained to IDEAL.
How to make an appointment
According to him, “many do not get vaccinated because they are active, working, they are not retired, and they have not begun to develop some chronic diseases.” Therefore, “the perception of risk, of having a medical problem, is not as deep-rooted,” he noted. Even so, the goal, he commented, is “for the person to call to get vaccinated.” The vaccine appointment can be requested through applications such as Clic Salud or Salud Responde. “It’s done in thirty seconds, but people have to become familiar with these ways, which make everything much more comfortable,” Moreno said. If you do not control the telematic options, you can go to the health center or call by phone.
The intention of the Ministry of Health is to extend the vaccination until February or March, since “there are people who continue to become infected with the flu in those months.” “As long as there are still cases, we continue vaccinating,” stressed the campaign director. When it ends, there will be “active recruitment, especially of very old people and people at risk who have not been vaccinated.”
Risk in children
Although the resistance of those over 60 to the flu vaccine “is not the only worrying thing.” The data indicate that only 32.7% of children from 6 months to 5 years old have the children’s flu vaccine, being “the second group, by age, that is most admitted to the hospital”, after those over 80. .
Moreno believes that people “are not aware” that the flu in children can have “very serious” consequences. “Those who have not been vaccinated yet, young and old, have to do so this next week, as this is coming,” she insisted.
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2023-11-29 22:19:02
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