The Government of Chubut, through the Ministry of Health, made the official presentation of the “Winter Campaign 2023”, an initiative within the framework of which it is planned to vaccinate against the flu people included in the population groups at risk , both in hospitals and health centers throughout the province.
The launch event took place this Friday at the facilities of the Tecka Rural Hospital, and was headed by the minister, Miryám Monasterolo, along with her work team; and the provincial deputy Pablo Nouveau were also present; the Undersecretary of Health Programs, Valeria Nazar; the director and associate director of the Esquel Program Area, Patricia Laborde and Julia Méndez respectively; the associate director of the Esquel Hospital, Adriana Torres; the director of the Tecka Rural Hospital, Marcos Acuña; the director of the Trevelin Rural Hospital, Leandro Bouquet; the head of the Provincial Department of Supervision of Epidemiological Activities, Daniela Carreras; the mayor of Tecka, Jorge Seitune; and the president of the Deliberative Council of said town, Ramón Correa.
NATIONAL LAUNCH
Consulted in this regard, the Minister of Health of Chubut, Miryám Monasterolo, explained: “today is a very important day for all of us who are part of the provincial health team, because simultaneously with the rest of the country we are launching the ‘Winter Campaign 2023’, where one of the fundamental axes is flu vaccination, and we are doing it in a place as important to us as the town of Tecka”.
TARGET POPULATIONS
“Starting today, then, the flu vaccine will be available in all hospitals in the province, which will be applied in different stages to the different target populations,” stressed the head of the health portfolio, and He added: “In the first instance, health personnel will be vaccinated, and then we will add the different prioritized groups.”
In relation to the latter, he explained: “the target populations for this campaign are the same that we have been managing in recent years: health personnel, children between six months and two years of age, pregnant women in any gestation period, recent mothers ( puerperal women) up to ten days after delivery, adults over 65 years of age, and all those people of any age who present pathologies or risk conditions.
The provincial minister said that “we chose to start this campaign here, in Tecka, because we consider it very important to generate significant presences in each of the corners of our province, as Governor Arcioni requests, and the community also requires it. chubutense”.
“In this sense, it is essential to be able to reach the various localities of the province with public health determinations, even when it comes to rural areas such as Tecka itself, thus avoiding that the centers of political decisions remain constrained only to the big cities, like Trelew, Rawson, Comodoro Rivadavia or Puerto Madryn”, he assured.
Likewise, Monasterolo highlighted: “we have very specific projects for the town of Tecka, which luckily are already quite advanced, such as the transfer of the Aldea Epulef and Colan Conhué Health Posts, which until now depended on the Esquel Program Area , which in the very near future will fall under the area of influence of the Tecka Rural Hospital, thus making it a reference establishment for the entire area”.
On the other hand, the head of the health portfolio was very satisfied with the presence of the local health teams during the inauguration of the new campaign, and thanked “the deputy Nouveau, the mayor and the president of the city’s Deliberative Council, the management of the Program Area, and the directors of the Hospitals of Esquel, Trevelin and Tecka itself, who were accompanying us in this launch event”.
In the same way, he also expressed his appreciation “to all health workers”, placing special emphasis on “local nurses, who, even though they are few, have always been at the foot of the canyon, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. year, shouldering both the vaccination campaign against Covid-19 and the vaccination itself against Measles, Rubella, Mumps and Polio, giving everything of themselves to be able to reach the last resident of the area ”.
IMPORTANCE OF VACCINATION
“We know that these new flu vaccination actions represent a new effort for the local teams, but it is very important that we can carry them out not only to prevent flu-related complications, but also to vaccinate against pneumococcus, also taking advantage of the occasion to complete the vaccination schemes that may have been pending, also applying the vaccine against Covid-19 in those cases that had received their last dose four months or more ago ”, Monasterolo explained.
PREVENTIVE MEASURES
The Minister of Health concluded by stating: “it is essential that children and education workers who present flu symptoms do not go to their schools, as the first action to be able to cut possible chains of contagion”, and added: “the measures of flu prevention are the same as those we have been supporting against Covid-19, since both viruses cause respiratory diseases, so it is very important to continue maintaining the same habits of hand washing, use of masks, ventilation of closed spaces , among others”.
