The vaccine against gripe This course arrives for the first time in schools in the Region of Murcia after the pilot experience carried out last year by the Ministry of Health. The objective of the department headed by Juan José Pedreño is to immunize first and second year preschool students in educational centers at the end of September with the flu compound, that is, those who are 3 and 4 years old.
Currently there are in the Region more than 27,500 children enrolled in school and born between 2019 and 2020, who are precisely the target population of the new school vaccination campaign that will start in the coming weeks. According to figures provided by the Ministry of Education, this year there are 13,240 students in the first year of Kindergarten (3 years old) and 14,333 in the second year (4 years old).
The Ministries of Health and Education have been carrying out the vaccination campaign in schools against the human papillomavirus (HPV) and meningococcus ACWY for years for students who turn 11 years old during the course, so they wanted to give one more step to increase the protection of the little ones starting this year the school vaccination against flu in the first Kindergarten grades.
Pediatricians attend 58,600 consultations as a result of the flu
Murcia was last season one of the first communities of Spain, together with Andalusia and Galicia, to introduce in the campaign against flu vaccination of children between 6 and 59 months, since this was the recommendation approved in October 2022 by the Public Health Commission at the national level. However, this vaccination was carried out in health centers and Primary Care offices, except for the pilot experience that was carried out in a small number of schools.
Added to this was the fact that the Region of Murcia was the only one that began using the intranasal attenuated vaccine for minors who were between 2 and 4 years old.
Training at centers
For inform healthcare professionals that this year the flu vaccination of 3 and 4-year-old children will be carried out in schools, the Ministry of Health began last week a round of videoconferences with those responsible for attending Pediatric consultations in Care Primary. In these courses, the protocol that is going to be initiated and through which Immunization of those born in 2019 and 2020 will begin at the end of Septemberwho will be administered the new intranasal vaccine that was already being used last year in health centers.
While the vaccination campaign against meningitis and human papillomavirus (HPV) to the boys and girls of 6th grade of Primary.
From Public Health they recognize that The flu is an infection that greatly affects children under 5 years of age. Hence, last year it was decided to include children in the vaccination campaigns.
Health copies the vaccination of Murcia
During this first experience, the health authorities of the Region of Murcia set the goal of achieving 50% coverage for the population aged 2 to 4 years, although the actual figure was lower, barely exceeding 45.2%. Hence the thought of extending it to schools, since It has been shown that when immunization is done in schools, much higher rates are achieved than when it is done in the health center.
Precisely, a month and a half after the 2022-2023 flu vaccination campaign began, Health launched a school flu vaccination pilot with children in first and second year of Kindergarten in 24 educational centers in the Region, achieving better results and exceeding 58% coverage, thirteen points more than what was achieved in health centers.
Health professionals emphasize that to achieve these coverages «Not only is the intervention of health workers necessary, but also of the teaching establishment of the school where you are vaccinated”, since they open the doors of the center and collaborate in sending and receiving requests for vaccination authorization to parents.
Higher incidence in children under 5 years of age
In the Region of Murcia, minors did not receive the flu vaccine (unless they were in a risk group due to some pathology) until last yearwhen the Murcian Ministry of Health took the step of including children from 6 to 59 months of age in the campaign, following the criteria and recommendation of the Public Health Commission.
This decision was supported by the figures, since in the last seven pre-pandemic seasons, The group of children under 5 years of age is the one with the highest cumulative incidence of flu confirmed and treated in Primary Care.
This is reflected in the Protocol for the Seasonal Administration of the Flu Vaccine in Educational Centers that the Ministries of Health and Education have prepared this past August and to which La Opinión has had access. This document refers to the high rates of infections that are registered in the community, indicating that the average data of these last seven seasons show that they have been attended 58,640 consultations in Primary Care, 4,239 hospitalizationsof them 822 serious and 249 in ICU, in children under 5 years of age.
These figures are even higher than the age group over 65 yearswhich were included in the vaccination, and of whom there were 37,411 consultations in Primary Care, 20,129 hospitalizations, of which 4,382 were serious and 814 in the ICU.
Regarding mortality, the average for the group of children under 5 years of age in the last seven seasons was 8 deaths per season.
Why should children under 5 years of age be vaccinated?
The flu can be a major health problem in children under 5 years of age, as it generates a high number of consultations in Primary Care, as well as hospital admissions, some of them serious. Furthermore, on average in recent years, it is estimated that there are three times more annual deaths from influenza than from meningococcus B disease.
Who should get the flu vaccine?
Flu vaccination is recommended for all children between 6 and 59 months of age. The intranasal vaccine will be administered in schools.
Which children should not receive the intranasal vaccine?
The intranasal vaccine is contraindicated in children with any of the following conditions: severe allergy (anaphylaxis) to eggs or their proteins; severe deficiency of the immune system congenital or due to medical treatment; chronic treatment with salicylates (oral or cream); and those with asthma symptoms in the 3 days before vaccination.
What is the risk of this vaccine?
The intranasal attenuated influenza vaccine is a very safe vaccine that has been administered in other countries for years. There are numerous countries that have experience in using it in school campaigns.
Why are you going to get vaccinated in schools?
Accessibility is one of the important points of any vaccination program and it is not always easy to go to the health center or regular vaccination post in the morning to vaccinate children.
Where can I get more information?
At your Health Center, usual Vaccination Post or at the Vaccination Program telephone numbers: 968 362249 – 968 366881, as well as at the e-mail: vaccines@carm.es.
2023-09-12 04:00:47
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