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The childhood influenza vaccination campaign for the population aged between six months and five years will begin on October 17. That is why the Higher Institute of Nursing of Seville (ECOES) warns of the importance of minors of these age groups and those living with chronic diseases to undergo vaccination to control the transmission of influenza.
“Soon the cold months will come and this every year brings us a disease that is epidemic and that is the flu,” says Víctor Bohórquez Sánchez, president of the Nursing College of Seville.
Influenza is an infectious disease, of varying severity and the virus of which spreads very easily, making children very susceptible to getting sick, so it is necessary to take the necessary measures to prevent it.
The younger the age, the higher the viral load
“The flu virus spreads through coughing and sneezing from the infected patient to his environment. The extent of the infection is related to the cough and the presence of the virus in the respiratory secretions. Children start shedding the virus up to six days after the onset of symptoms, which has a great epidemiological impact, “says Bohórquez Sánchez. Furthermore, he points out,” the younger the patient, the lower the its immune defenses, the longer it eliminates the virus, the more intense the viral load it transmits ».
Bohórquez Sánchez explains that “it is a relevant disease from a health point of view, since contracting it can trigger pneumonia and other bacterial infections that require health care and hospitalization and that can also cause death, especially in risk groups”. In addition, we must pay attention to the rates of school and work absenteeism, in the case of parents, that result from it.
In this sense, “the flu vaccine becomes a necessity to stem the infection and has something very positive, that is, it can be administered at the same time as others on the calendar”, reports the president of the Sevillian nurses. So it is vital that children between six and four years and five months, and those with chronic diseases, receive it, as they can spread the virus very easily to the rest of the population.
Five types of vaccines
As a Nurse Specialist in Pediatrics, Bohórquez Sánchez stresses that five types of specific influenza vaccines for pediatric use will be available: four inactivated and tetravalent vaccines, including two for intramuscular administration and two for intramuscular and subcutaneous administration.
Three are indicated from six months of age (Fluarix Tetra, Influvac Tetra and Vaxigrip Tetra) and one from two years of age (Flucelvax Tetra). And finally, an attenuated, tetravalent and intranasal vaccine (Fluenz Tetra), aimed at children and adolescents between the ages of two and 17 (up to the day before the age of 18). Vaxigrip Tetra and Flucelvax Tetra are included in the vaccination calendar of Andalusia.
The College of Nursing in Seville reminds the population of the importance of influenza vaccination in young children in order to reduce the impact of the disease in the community.
