The flu is often seen as a seasonal virus which attacks the elderly and people with weakened immune systems especially hard. But the truth is that the The second risk group is the child population: Children up to 5 years old are admitted for the flu at the same rate as those over 60 years old. In addition, it must be noted that the youngest children suffer the highest rate of diseases and infections to act as transfer agents towards their primary caregivers: grandparents.
For this reason, the Health Department of the Board is recommended this year increase the vaccination rate in the child population and that it reaches at least 65%. For this reason, in a new way, the vaccination campaign at schools, to make management easier for parents. However, children can also get the flu vaccine at their regular health centre.
The school vaccination campaign Aimed at children in first and second grade of all the Andalusian schools. And it is a complete success. According to the data provided by the Ministry of Health, in the first four weeks of vaccination – from October 1 to 25 – 41% of the target population has been vaccinated – children from 0 to 59 months -, when in the same period of the Last year the percentage reached just 21% and in 2022, to 18%.
In the age groups receiving vaccination in schools (6 to 8 years), already vaccinated 57% of the children enrolled in the first grade in primary school and 55% of the children in the second grade In the previous two seasons, in the first four weeks of October there was the level of vaccination 19.7% in the first year of Primary School and 15.1% in the second year of Primary School in the 2023/2024 season. In 2022/2023, 18.3% of children in first grade and 16.5% of children in second grade received the vaccine.
David Moreno director of the Andalusian Vaccination Plan celebrating the good reception of the vaccination campaign in schools. In this, “the intranasal vaccination», which does not require a puncture. This year, the same recommendations are being followed regarding the groups that must receive the vaccine. This season is only added to the early childhood education teachers “to achieve flu-free classes as much as possible,” explained Moreno.
The director of the Vaccination Plan emphasizes the importance of all risk groups receiving the flu vaccine. «“It has been proven to reduce the risk of admission in children by 70% and between 50% and 70% in other groups. “
It is the vaccine that is used this season quadrilateral, which is designed to protect against the four main strains responsible for influenza, A (H1N1) pdm09 and A (H3N2), B/Victoria and B/Yamagata. However, the EMA recommended a move to a trivalent vaccine that excludes the B/Yamagata strain, since its circulation has not been detected since 2020. This season, quadrivalent intramuscular vaccines will continue to be used with that the production processes of the pharmaceutical companies were high-quality.”». But in intranasal vaccines, because they are vaccines made with inactivated live viruses, we are included because of the risk of reactivation of the strain.
2024-10-29 05:01:00
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