A vaccination campaign has begun at the Health Center

He Guarena Medical Center It already has 1,200 doses of flu vaccination and 150 vials of Pfizer for Covid sent by the Extremeño Health Service (SES). The vaccination campaign has begun last Tuesday, October 15th against seasonal flu and Covid-19 booster doseto protect the most vulnerable groups not only in Guareña, but also as part of the regional vaccination coverage in various offices in Valdetorres, Manchita, Cristina and Oliva de Mérida, according to the coordinator of the Guareña Health Center, Juan Luis Delgado Calderon.

It is scheduled for this week, Tuesday 15th, for people over 90; yesterday, Wednesday the 16th, elderly people from 85 to 90 years old; and today is Thursday the 17th, for seniors aged 80 to 85. Vaccination access is available through the Emergency Department from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

For the flu vaccine, “from six months,” and for Covid, “from 60 years of age or at risk,” Delgado reports. The novelty of this campaign involves the introduction of a new “intranasal” vaccine for children aged 2-5 years, “and they will go to school,” says the Center’s coordinator, to avoid the hassle of permits, travel…

The staff running the vaccination service is “the entire infirmary of the region”, and the people who come “are responding very well, and so far everything is absolutely fine,” he adds. Juan Luis Delgado.

It says there are two types of flu vaccines: for people over 70 and for people six months and older.

Requirements

For this covid vaccination campaign, the following requirements must be taken into account: at least two doses administered, the last dose administered more than three months ago, and no covid infection in the last three months.

For its part, the Junta of Extremadura launched a vaccination campaign against seasonal influenza and Covid-19 last Monday, the 14th, in order to protect the most vulnerable groups in the Autonomous Community.

The goals set by the SES for this joint campaign, which will end on January 31, 2025, are to achieve 75 percent vaccination among older people and among health and social care personnel, and to exceed 60 percent among pregnant women and women. in people with risk conditions.

The double vaccination targets people at increased risk of complications or severe conditions, with priority given to residents of community health centers and the population aged 80 and over.

Persons over 60 years of age, residents of disabled homes and boarding schools, persons staying in boarding schools for a long period of time, as well as residents of closed institutions should be vaccinated.

Likewise, persons under 60 years of age with medical conditions that increase the risk of contracting influenza or covid; pregnant women in any trimester of pregnancy; and women in the postpartum period, up to six months after giving birth, and who were not vaccinated during pregnancy.

Also people who live with those who have a high degree of complications if they become ill with these pathologies, and the necessary specialists to reduce the impact and maintain critical and essential services for society.

Likewise, employees of public and private medical and social-medical centers and institutions, as well as employees of essential public services, such as state security forces and agencies, civil protection and firefighters.

Vaccination against covid

The SES already has 131 thousand doses of Pfizer, the number of which will increase as the campaign progresses, as well as doses of the vaccine from the Hipra laboratory, intended for those users who have contraindications for RNA injection.

Based on scientific evidence and new recommendations from health authorities, starting this year, Covid vaccinations will be seasonal during the yearly period of greatest circulation of the virus, coinciding with influenza.

Covid vaccination is not generally recommended for people under 60 without risk factors.

Vaccination is recommended regardless of the number of doses received previously, but at least three months must have passed since the last injection or since the last infection.

If you do not belong to the SES, but to the Mufas, Mugeju and Isfas mutual aid societies, vaccination will be carried out at the health center or clinic closest to your home.

Flu vaccination

If vaccinated exclusively against influenza, two important things will happen this year. The first is that the high-load vaccine (Efluelda), which provides the greatest protection, will be given to the entire population aged 70 years and over, and to all people living in health centers and social care settings. medical centers aged 60 years and older.

Extremadura will vaccinate these population groups with Efluelda, compared to other communities that use it only for the institutionalized group in centers for the elderly and others, at most from the age of 80 years.

Another first is that while flu vaccination was recommended for healthy populations aged 6 to 59 months last year, this year the intranasal vaccine will be introduced for the first time. It has several advantages over the intramuscular vaccine in that it “generates immunity at the mucosal level, more effectively limiting influenza virus replication and therefore infection and transmission to third parties in children aged 24 to 59 months.” ” It will also avoid parenteral administration as it eliminates puncture and pain and is expected to improve tolerability.

As part of this campaign, SES, which recommends influenza vaccination for smokers under 60 years of age, invested €3,420,000 in the purchase of 275,300 doses of influenza vaccine.