Estremadura purchase 80,000 flu vaccines for the next campaign, which will begin in October. The Extremadura Health Service (SES) has invested 2 million euros in the acquisition of these new doses with the aim of immunizing 80% of those over 65 years of age, the most vulnerable to the flu virus. The expected protection is well above the level of coverage reached last year, when 65% of the population in that age range was vaccinated. They were 12% more than in the 2021 campaign, but even so it was still below the target set, since it was intended to immunize 70%.
Extremadura achieves 65% coverage in flu vaccination
This next campaign will begin with novelties, since It will be the first time that the immunization calendar includes the flu vaccine for children between 6 months and 5 years.Until now, only vulnerable minors received this injection, but as of this year everyone who requests it will be able to get it (the inhaled vaccine was available, which was sold in pharmacies, but since it was not financed, the coverage was almost insignificant).
Notwithstanding these 80,000 doses, which will be provided by the Sanofi Aventis SA laboratories through a contract signed at the national level in the previous legislature, They will only be used for the protection of the older population. since, as explained by the Extremadura Health Service, «We must protect people who have a higher risk of presenting complications in the event of getting sick from living in closed environments and people who, due to their age, due to immunosenescence, when they get sick from the flu may have a high risk of complications”. By protecting these people, adds the SES, it is possible to reduce the incidence, which in turn contributes “to reducing the impact on healthcare pressure.”
It is recommended to get the covid and flu vaccine at the same time, but only for vulnerable groups
Influenza is one of the three respiratory viruses that are controlled through the Acute Respiratory Infection Surveillance System (Sivira), together with the covid and the Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). According to the latest data published by this body, which correspond to the week of August 7 to 13, respiratory infections in Extremadura have stabilized: with 105.7 cases per 100,000 inhabitants ranks as the second community with the lowest incidenceonly behind Madrid, which has a rate of 48.6 (Andalusia has not provided data that week).
Although it is also true that infections are growing. In the region, the incidence has risen almost 12 points compared to the previous week, although it is far from the rebound experienced by other territories such as Cantabria, with 619 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, or the Valencian Community, with 532.9. And also well below the national average, which was 296 that week.
Leading the way in revenue
However, and despite the fact that the incidence is one of the lowest in the national territoryExtremadura is the leader in hospital admissions for severe acute respiratory infections, with a rate of 16.4 hospitalizations per 100,000 inhabitants. The Extremadura regionIt has almost the same income as the Valencian (with a rate of 16.2), when the latter is the second with the highest incidence of these infections. The hospitalization rate in Extremadura almost doubles the national average, which is 9.5 admissions. One of the main causes of this is the aging of the population of Extremadura, the most vulnerable to this type of infection.
PPrecisely to prevent serious cases, the Ministry of Health recommends joint vaccination of both flu and covid (one dose of each of them) for vulnerable groups. Not so for the rest: “Considering the epidemiological situation and the immunity acquired by the population, vaccination against covid in people not included in the target groups would not be justified,” says Health.
Extremadura will not recover the mask like Valencia or Catalonia
On July 4, the Council of Ministers approved the end of the mandatory mask in health centers and hospitalstwo months after the World Health Organization (WHO) decreed the end of the international emergency due to the coronavirus pandemic. But now, not a month and a half after the masks stopped being used completely, they have recovered again. Lo two hospitals in the Valencian Community have built, Doctor Peset and General de Valencia, and the Clínic de Barcelona, Given the significant rise in cases. All three oblige both patients and their companions to use this protection in the ER, in oncology rooms or in areas with patients admitted for coronavirus. It is a temporary measure, until the situation stabilizes again.
Extremadura is not considering this measure at the moment, as confirmed by Health to this newspaper. “At this time, the SES does not plan to reintroduce the mandatory mask in hospitals in the region, although the evolution of covid cases is being followed,” reported the Ministry, which does not clarify whether it will return to the mask if there is a uptick in cases.
2023-08-23 06:00:14
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