The flu vaccine reduces complications, hospitalizations, sequelae and deaths caused by the influenza virus (Illustrative Image Infobae)
By 2025, the Ministry of Health of the Nation aims to vaccinate to millions of Argentines against the gripe by acquiring more than 8.6 million doses. This campaign, which is part of the National Immunization Programseeks to protect the most vulnerable groups, such as older adults, children and people with chronic conditions, while optimizing the use of available resources.
As far as he could know Infobaethe pharmas were chosen Abbott y Synergy Biotech for its price and quality, and, according to national officials, this change in the purchasing strategy will imply a saving of between 5% and the 38% in the unit cost.
Why did the way of acquiring vaccines change? As anticipated Infobae to do processes more efficient and save resources from state coffers. The initiative seeks that, with a greater quantity of vaccines, in a more efficient and sustainable manner, together with careful planning, economic losses will be significantly reduced, while guaranteeing that vaccines reach those who need them most with the aim of solidly confronting and organized the impact of influenza virusone of the main seasonal threats to public health.
From the national health portfolio they stated that between 2021 y 2023se they won 2,536,510 doses of flu vaccines have not been used and a potential expiration of 441,000 is estimated for the 2024 campaign, which represents a loss of 14 million dollars.
According to the Ministry of Health of the Nation, directed by Mario Lugones, the purpose of optimizing the current process is avoid these losses through a more precise planning of necessary doses.
As reported to Infobae, the unit cost of flu vaccines was reduced by up to 38% (Illustrative Image Infobae)
The acquisition process was carried out through the Public Tender No. 80-0026-LPU24which aims to ensure the availability of vaccines and efficient use of allocated resources.
One of the key objectives was to optimize the purchasing system, and they highlighted Infobae what this process will represent a significant saving in the unit price of the doses of seasonal flu vaccines monovalent, trivalent pediatric and trivalent adjuvanted compared to the previous year.
As far as he could know InfobaeAccording to sources from the health ministry, “the process allowed save more than $23 billion. The optimization of the purchase generated efficiencies between 5% and the 38% in the unit cost of vaccines in dollars, compared to the acquisitions of 2022 and 2023″.
The flu can cause serious complications, including death, in people 65 years of age and older, young children, pregnant women, and people with chronic illnesses or conditions (Getty)
For this reason, “the Ministry established mechanisms to avoid the expiration of unused vaccines, a problem that affected campaigns in previous years“, as they pointed out to Infobae.
Based on the preliminary administrative, economic and technical analyses, and the documentation in the aforementioned file, The evaluation committee recommended the award to Abbott Laboratories Argentina SA and Sinergium Biotech SA, for the price and quality of the immunizations.
Abbott Laboratories Argentina S.A.will be in charge of providing 5,150,000 units of the single-dose seasonal influenza vaccine for adults and 1,670,000 units of the trivalent pediatric vaccine; and Sinergium Biotech S.A.will supply 2,300,000 units of the trivalent adjuvanted seasonal influenza vaccine.
This process is part of National Immunization ProgramAs highlighted to Infobae, the aim is to guarantee timely and effective coverage of the population, but always with the north of a responsible use of resources. In addition, they stressed the importance of having an agile and efficient vaccination system to prevent widely circulating diseases such as influenza.
The National Immunization Program, which is part of the strategy for the 2025 vaccination campaign, has the main objective of guaranteeing the protection of risk groups, including the elderly, children and those with chronic conditions, through efficient purchasing . of vaccines
“For the 2024 campaign, the 30% of the doses distributed by the National State were not recorded as applied. Between 2021 and 2023, they expired 2,536,510 doses of flu vaccines, and it is estimated that 441,000 doses could expire in the 2024 campaign, which represents a loss of 14 million dollars“, as detailed to Infobae.
Cost savings and reduction of unused doses are part of the plan Ministry to achieve greater organization in the health system. These measures seek to improve the sustainability of immunization programs and ensure that vaccines are available to those who need them at the right time.
The purchase of flu vaccines also responds to the need to anticipate seasonal diseases that affect a large part of the population every year.. The 2025 vaccination campaign is expected to achieve wide coverage, reinforcing the work of previous years to protect risk groups, such as the elderly, children and those with pre-existing health conditions.
The virus is transmitted from one person to another, mainly by droplets from the respiratory tract of a sick person, through coughing, sneezing or simply when speaking (Illustrative Image Infobae)
The gripe or flu It is a respiratory disease caused by viruses that spreads rapidly and affects people of all ages. Although most infected people recover within one to two weeks, some groups are more vulnerable to serious complications, including older adults, young children and people with chronic illnesses.
The virus influenza It is spread mainly by respiratory droplets expelled when coughing, sneezing or talking. These droplets can be inhaled by nearby people or deposited on surfaces. Touching these surfaces and putting your hands on your face increases the risk of infection, especially in public places.
Flu symptoms include fever above 38°C, cough, nasal congestion, sore throat, headache and muscle aches. In severe cases, especially in people with risk factors, it can lead to pneumonia, so medical attention is recommended in the presence of severe symptoms.
Pregnant women can receive the flu vaccine at any time during pregnancy (Illustrative Image Infobae)
The flu vaccine It is the main preventive measure against flu complications. He National Vaccination Schedule includes the flu vaccine for the following groupss:
- health personnel: one annual dose.
- People 65 years of age or older and people with risk factors between 9 and 64 years: The vaccine is recommended together with the pneumococcus vaccine and the adult double vaccine booster (tetanus and diphtheria).
- Children from 6 to 24 months and up to 8 years with risk factors: They must receive two doses if they have not been vaccinated before.
- Pregnant people: They must receive the vaccine at any stage of pregnancy, along with other vaccines such as COVID-19 and the acellular triple bacterial vaccine (dTpa) from week 20.
- Postpartum people : They are recommended to be vaccinated before leaving the maternity hospital or within 10 days after giving birth.
Vaccinating not only protects each individual, but also contributes to community immunity, essential for those who cannot receive the vaccine.
