Valladolid
The new vaccination campaign against influenza and COVID-19 will start early on October 1 for institutionalized people, both in senior centers and those for the disabled, pregnant women and children under 5 years of age – which will be intranasal to avoid injections – while it is delayed until the 14th for all groups of citizens in which its administration, which will be at the usual vaccination points such as health centers, is recommended as they are the target population. The Ministry of Health has purchased 713,500 doses of flu vaccines, which has entailed an outlay of 9.7 million euros, to which are added the 391,680 vaccines that the State will supply to immunize against COVID.
One of the novelties this year is the adjuvanted vaccine, which will be used for the population aged 60 and over, since in previous seasons it was administered only to those aged 65 and over. This vaccine offers greater immunogenicity and additional protection in older adults than doses without adjuvant. This season’s campaign will be completed with the administration of a single dose of Nirsevimab against Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) in autumn 2024 for all children born between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025. The aim is to prevent bronchiolitis.
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The Minister of Health, Alejandro Vázquez, today made an appeal to the target population, likely to be immunized against respiratory viruses in winter, on the importance of vaccination, both for their health and for the general population. Not in vain, the campaign against influenza will be directed in a staggered manner to population groups with a higher risk of complications in the event of suffering from influenza infection and to people who can transmit it to others with a high risk of complications. In the case of COVID, the aim is to strengthen the protection of the most vulnerable people and of health and social care personnel to reduce morbidity and mortality and the impact of this disease on healthcare capacity.
The Director General of Public Health, Sonia Tamames, acknowledged that vaccinations usually fall after a period of pandemics in which the population is vaccinated en masse, with coverage below those rates achieved due to this high perception of risk and, subsequently, they increase again. “It is likely that this year, we will still not be able to increase, compared to previous years,” she said. In any case, she made it clear that the coverage of the previous campaign and the forecast for this year are higher than the pre-pandemic period. “Vaccination is not received by all the people who were vaccinated during the pandemic but it has not suffered reputational damage, as has been interpreted at times,” she said.
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Director General of Public Health, Sonia Tamames, on the new vaccination campaign against influenza and Covid
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In this regard, he praised the “very good” response from parents to vaccinate their babies. Last year, Castilla y León was one of the communities that vaccinated against the flu for the first time and was ranked as the one with the best health coverage at the national level. Therefore, it is in fourth place although the three regions ahead had started vaccinating children under five in the 2022-2023 season.
After 17,650 professionals from the regional Health Management were vaccinated last year, with coverage below 50 percent in Primary and Hospital Care, Tamames stressed that the Ministry is working to promote this vaccination because the figures are below what was expected, despite being above pre-pandemic levels.
Therefore, vaccination against influenza and COVID is recommended for people aged 60 years or older; those in disability centres, nursing homes, and closed institutions; children between 6 months and 12 years with very high-risk conditions due to their immunodeficiencies or chronic diseases; those over 12 years of age with certain pathologies (diabetes mellitus, Cushing’s syndrome, morbid obesity, chronic diseases, and cancer). Pregnant women and people living with those who have a high degree of immunosuppression are also included in the target population.
The Department of Health is expecting to vaccinate around 40,000 institutionalised people, between 6,000 and 8,000 pregnant women and around 30,000 children between six and 59 months of age during these 15 days of prioritisation.
Finally, joint vaccination will be offered to staff at public and private health and social care centres and establishments and workers in essential public services (state security forces and bodies, firefighters and Civil Protection).
In addition, vaccination against influenza will be offered to staff at educational centres and to workers with direct exposure to animals that may be susceptible to infection with animal influenza. This includes livestock farmers, veterinarians and employees of poultry, pig, mink or wildlife farms.
Staggered administration and by appointment
Sonia Tamames stressed that vaccination will be carried out in stages, as the doses arrive from the laboratories, so their administration will be by appointment, as in previous years, to avoid waiting. Starting the week of November 18, people who are not yet vaccinated can be vaccinated without the need for an appointment. In the presence of the regional health manager, Violeta Martínez, she specified that there will not be a specific end date for vaccination, since once the flu epidemic has started, which usually lasts about ten weeks, people will be able to get vaccinated, because there will “always” be a remnant in the health centers.
Asked about the forecast for the next flu epidemic, Dr. Tamames said that it has returned to normal levels, as happened last year when it was of medium intensity. “It will depend on the virus that is circulating, although now there is only one strain of the influenza B virus circulating,” she said. As for COVID-19, the Omicron variant is the hegemonic one, with its subvariants, although, at present, there is no intense circulation, although it will fluctuate throughout the year.
