The risk of hospitalization for gripe in children under two years of age it is similar to that of those over 65 years of age. Far from what one might think, influenza infection in neonates can present serious complications that affect healthy children, without any previous risk factor. In addition, minors are the main vectors of this disease, which is why they play a fundamental role in its transmission. For all these reasons, they were included in the 2022/2023 Flu vaccination campaign.
Since last October 3, the date on which the current campaign began, In Andalusia, 125,692 children between six months and four years have been inoculated. This newly incorporated age group has received 38.95% of the total doses administered against influenza in the community -322,709 to date-. Despite this, only 41.6% of Andalusian minors are immunized with the preparation against this respiratory virus.
The flu traditionally starts with the appearance of fever, headaches or general malaise, to later lead to respiratory or gastrointestinal symptoms. In children, however, the symptoms can vary and present in the form of apnea, refusal to eat or fever without a focus.
These can lead to complications such as otitis, bronchitis, laryngotracheitis or bronchiolitis. In the most serious cases, for their part, minors can suffer pneumonia or encephalitis, among other diseases such as renal failure or hemophagocytic syndrome. In most cases, these require a hospital admission. Each year, 800 children are hospitalized due to serious complications from the flu.
This is the main reason why your vaccination is recommended. This not only reduces the mortality and the hospitalization, but rather shortens the duration of symptoms and their intensity. Hence the importance of influencing this type of vaccination, which seems to It has not yet fully penetrated in Andalusia.
More than half of Andalusian minors continue without vaccination. Although vaccination rates do exceed this cutoff among some bands, in others it does not even reach 40%. This is the case of children between 48 and 59 months, who have 36.6% immunity, or newborns between 6 and 11 months, with 38.3%. The case of this last group is especially worrying, since being the smallest they are those most prone to complications.
Meanwhile, Andalusians between 12 and 23 months are the ones with the highest vaccination rate, with 50.2%. They are followed, ten points below, by minors between 24 and 35 months, with 40.8%, and children between 36 and 47 months, with 40.9%.
Over 65
In contrast, the importance of vaccination against influenza does seem to have permeated among those over 65 years of age, the other age group that may suffer the most from the consequences of this viral disease. In Andalusia, 70.6% of these elderly already have this preparation.
The community is thus more than four points above the national average, which is 66.2%. In addition, the Andalusian autonomy is one of those with the highest vaccination rates at the national level
