“The Importance of Vaccination for Diabetic Patients: Preventing Complications from Respiratory Diseases like COVID-19 and Influenza”

Asunción, IP Agency.- The former president of the Paraguayan Society of Infectious Diseases, Elena Candia, referred to the importance of vaccination as a preventive measure in patients with diabetes since, even when they are well controlled, they are at greater risk of presenting serious complications when contracting respiratory diseases such as covid -19, influenza, among others.

“People with diabetes mellitus are part of the priority groups to be vaccinated since they are at greater risk of presenting complications and have a six times greater risk of hospitalization in the case of not receiving immunization,” said Elena Candia, a member of the Paraguayan Society of Infectology (SPI).

National and international specialists participated in the XVI Congress of the Paraguayan Society of Internal Medicine, held in the country. The main focus this year was on the prevention of winter respiratory illnesses through vaccinations.

The former president of the Paraguayan Society of Infectious Diseases, Elena Candia, referred to the importance of vaccination as a preventive measure in patients with diabetes since, even when they are well controlled, they are at greater risk of presenting serious complications when contracting respiratory diseases such as covid -19, influenza, among others. “Diabetic patients have four times the risk of hospitalization, admission to intensive care, and even death from influenza compared to a non-diabetic patient,” she says.

In this sense, it considers it essential to prevent these diseases and protect patients through vaccination, with the annual bivalent vaccine against covid-19 and the quadrivalent vaccine against influenza, which contains two influenza A viruses and two influenza B viruses. , provides broader protection. Both vaccines are available from this year in the scheme of the Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare (Mspybs) free of charge and can be applied at the same time.

Bivalent vaccine against covid-19 is more effective, says international expert

Likewise, the Colombian specialist in Infectious Diseases, Master’s in Clinical Epidemiology and national coordinator of studies on covid-19, Carlos Álvarez addressed aspects of bivalent vaccines against covid-19, emphasized during his presentation on the scientific evidence where they agree that there is a high risk reduction of contracting the disease when applying this vaccine. Unlike previous covid vaccines, this biological, in addition to containing genetic material from the virus originating in Wuhan (China), incorporates subvariants such as omicron, the currently dominant one worldwide.

“What is achieved through this combination of genes is a better immune response, that is, those who receive this dose will have a better production of defenses,” says Álvarez.

“The vaccination campaign with the bivalent vaccine has proven to be beneficial in reducing hospitalizations due to covid-19, which is especially important for people in risk groups,” he says.

It should also be remembered that the World Health Organization (WHO) has classified patients with diabetes as a high priority when receiving the covid-19 vaccine.

“We all have to work together to be aware that the virus has not gone away and that the way to protect ourselves and others is by vaccinating ourselves and keeping the schedules up to date,” Professor Álvarez insisted.

More about the vaccines available in Paraguay

–Covid-19 Bivalent Modern 222: It protects against the ancestral Wuhan variant and also has protection against the new omicron variants of covid-19. Annual dose from six years onwards. Interval: 4 months after the second dose or six months after the booster dose.

It is important to note that the coronavirus scheme becomes annual, just as influenza vaccines are currently. To access the annual dose, it is only necessary to have a complete initial scheme (2 doses).

–Quadrivalent or tetravalent anti-influenza: This vaccine protects against four strains of influenza as it contains two influenza A viruses and two influenza B viruses, providing broader protection than trivalent vaccines. Everyone 6 months and older can be vaccinated to be protected. Flu vaccination is free for the entire population, and it is especially important for people belonging to priority groups: children from 6 months to three years of age, health workers, pregnant or postpartum women, people with underlying disease, the elderly.

These vaccines can be applied simultaneously.

“Getting vaccinated is power” campaign

The Paraguayan Pediatric Society (SPP), in alliance with six other medical societies, launched the “Vaccinating is Power” campaign, with the purpose of raising awareness among the population about the importance of annual vaccination to protect against infectious diseases of the spring season. winter like influenza and covid-19.

This SPP awareness action is added to the Winter Vaccination Campaign in force until July, run by the Expanded Immunization Program (PAI) of the Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare (Mspybs).