ALICANTE FLU VACCINATION | Flu vaccine to reach schools this year

vaccination against flu the next one will come course in schoolsThe Generalitat will begin. from October 1st immunization campaign in educational centers aimed at Preschool and special education studentsin order to protect 22,500 schoolchildren from the province of Alicante and about 72,500 from the entire Valencian Community. This is the assessment of the Ministry of Health, since this is a voluntary decision that depends on the families.

Consell President Carlos Mason announced the measure with the aim of ““facilitate intranasal vaccination without the need to travel to health centers to promote family reconciliation.”The target population for this vaccination campaign is minors born in 2020 and 2021students at the pre-school stage of education in state and subsidized centers, as well as all students educational centers for people with disabilitiesin which minors and young people participate up to 22 years old.

The reason why the autonomous administration limited the initiative to the three and four year old age group because children are recommended to get a flu shot from 6 to 59 monthsas justified by the Marciano Gomez department, where they added that it is recommended for children over this age only if they belong to risk groups, so the campaign is aimed at kindergarten students.

At the same time, students of primary school and the following educational cycles belonging to Risk groups can be vaccinated, as always, in medical centers.as well as other people in risk groups. In this line pediatricians consulted by this newspaper I agree that Children under five years of age are more likely to carry the disease than older children. that’s why they recommend vaccination for Help prevent the virus from being passed on to other children, adults or the elderly.

Dates

This campaign, which will start on October 1stIt’s meFirst school vaccination against flu launched by the Generalitat and which is coordinated between the education and health departments. Thus, teams of health workers will plan vaccination days at their sites with educational centers, which will take place as part of the 2024-2025 flu vaccination campaign.

Before this strategy was set up last season, it was implemented in Elda’s health department. pilot vaccination experience against influenza in the training centers of this health department, which ended with successful participationwhich led to its extension to all health departments of the Valencian Community, as the autonomous administration stressed.

Thus, Carlos Mason indicated that the Council “continues implementation and promotion in the field of primary health care to guarantee the public and quality healthcare that citizens deserve”,

Intranasal vaccine

The vaccine, which will be given to children in preschools, intranasal administration and only for students who have no contraindications to this type of vaccine. It is administered with a small dose in each nostril and it is a trivalent vaccine. Similarly, in special education centers, the possibility of administering the intramuscular vaccine will be considered in certain cases. simultaneous immunization with vaccine against COVID-19.

The Generalitat established for the first time intranasal vaccine indicated for children aged 2 to 4 years.in the latest influenza campaign, which began in October 2023. This vaccine avoid puncture for the little ones, as it comes in nasal spray form Among its advantages, it stands out that it neutralizes the virus at the point of entry – on the nasal mucosa.

The Importance of Vaccinating Minors

At the epidemiological level, the Generalitat warned that vaccination of children This is very important for several reasons. On the one hand, mainly children under 5 years old. They are the most infected and sick. flu every year. In addition, it is not always mild and in some cases requires hospitalization.

On the other hand, the child population capable of transmitting the flu to other peoplewho may suffer from a serious illness with the risk of serious complications. This will protect minors from the flu prevents spread among older people and other vulnerable groups and helps stop the transmission of the virus.

During the previous campaign, the Valencian Community had already introduced childhood influenza vaccination for boys and girls aged 6 to 59 months, a recommendation that has also been included by the Public Health Commission for the 2024-2025 season.