Los municipalities of the western Costa del Sol they have the lowest vaccination level in Andalusia, along with Campo de Gibraltar, in Cádiz, and Levante, in Almería. In the first years of children’s lives, the difference in vaccine coverage compared to other health districts is very small. But As age advances, the gap widens and it reaches a difference of 10 points with respect to the regional average in adolescence.
The pandemic left a clear lesson to the population: without widespread immunization of a group (so-called herd or group immunity), germs spread easily. Because the less vaccination, the greater contagion and vice versa. A high level of immunization acts as a firewall against infectious and contagious pathologies.
According to the director of Andalusia Strategic Vaccination Plan (Andavac), David Moreno, this lower level of coverage in the Costa del Sol area does not represent a public health problem, nor are there outbreaks. But he clarifies that at ages when vaccination is low, “there may be a little more risk.” For each subject, in particular, and for the group in general. Because vaccines have a double objective: the protection of each individual and – to the extent that they are a firewall – also of the group, since the germs find fewer people to infect and spread.
Moreno specifies that in the triple viral vaccine (measles, rubella and mumps), whose first doses are given before the age of four, the average coverage in Andalusia amounts to 97% and in the western Costa del Sol to 95.5%. “In younger children, the difference is negligible,” he points out. She adds that the World Health Organization considers coverage above 95% “tolerable.” “With this percentage it is almost impossible for there to be outbreaks,” she points out. However, when he gives the example of the dose of meningitis Of the 12 years, coverage is 92% in Andalusia and 82% on the Costa del Sol. That is, 10 points lower than the regional average.
Cultural differences, language barriers and alternative ideologies could explain these lower immunization rates. In general, in all vaccines and territories, vaccination is highest at early ages and then decreases.
“But teenagers are teenagers on the Costa del Sol, Seville or Cuenca,” reflects Moreno. That is why this lower vaccination is attributed to the demographic differences on the Coast. The head of Andavac insists that for now these data “They have no significance in public health, but we want them to improve”. He notes that “the Costa del Sol District is doing very well compared to the United Kingdom, where coverage is lower,” but insists that the objective is to raise the percentages.
Moreno reminds parents that Immunization protects your children and the community. He also emphasizes that this area of the province is a transit point for people from many countries, which entails a greater risk of virus spread. To try to improve coverage, the Health Administration will campaign on its website and on social networks. In addition, from health centers and through school nurses there will be a “recruitment effort” of unvaccinated children or those who have not completed their schedule as marked by the SAS calendar.
2023-10-23 05:00:00
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