The pediatric intranasal influenza vaccine it will be available in the pharmacy “next week or week after”. This was confirmed by Javier Álvarez Aldean, member of the Vaccine Advisory Committee of the Spanish Association of Pediatrics (CAV-AEP), at Medical writing. It is indicated for children and adolescents between 2 and 7 years of age, a medical prescription will be required for its acquisition and it will have to be administered by a healthcare professional. It will cost around 37 euros, the expert assured.
The vaccine in question is from the biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and is called Fluenz Tetra. “This vaccine is indicated for the prevention of influenza in children and adolescents between the ages of 2 and 17, and its intranasal delivery system it avoids the use of needles and pricks, as it is applied by spraying each nostril with which it is possible to stimulate the immune system to protect itself from the flu virus “, explains the company.
“It is an excellent vaccine that has been shown to be highly effective and also reproduces the disease without causing it,” said Javier Álvarez Aldean. The vaccine is tetravalent, which means it offers protection against four viral strains – A / (H1N1), A / (H3N2) and two B- strains.
While it was already possible to purchase the vaccine through the hospital network pharmacy services last year, this year it will be available at municipal pharmacies. “The reason is that last year it came in multi-dose containers. This year it is presented in single-dose, so it can be marketed easily,” explained the professional.
pediatric vaccination
From the Vaccine Advisory Committee of the Spanish Pediatric Association, Influenza vaccination is recommended for all children between 6 months and five years of age. In addition, they emphasize the recommendation for people over 6 months of age who belong to a risk group and have certain underlying conditions or illnesses that present a higher risk of suffering from flu complications.
“Furthermore, we believe that influenza vaccination of children older than that age not included in the risk groups would also be a recommended measure, as this preventive practice it provides individual protection to children and adolescents and promotes the protection of the family and the community ”, they underline.
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