College of Nursing says school vaccinations support need for school nurse

VALENCIA (EP). The Official College of Nursing of Valencia (COENV) noted this Thursday that the recent announcement by the Generalitat that in October it will launch a flu vaccination campaign in schools for preschool children and special education students, confirms the position it has always taken regarding the need to adequately establish the figure of the school nurse in all educational centers.

Given the Valencian Generalitat’s promise to hire 300 school nurses, COENV stressed in its statement that these professionals should lead the next flu vaccination campaign, which is expected to vaccinate 72,000 students.

According to the board, the intranasal vaccine that will be administered is a “procedure that should be performed by nurses who have the appropriate training and the necessary experience in the field of school nursing.” “School nurses are best qualified to take on this responsibility, not only because of their training, but also because their presence in educational centers ensures continuity of health care for students,” the president of the organization said. Laura Almudever.

For Almudever, the campaign “is an opportunity to demonstrate the importance of having school nurses in all centers.” “COENV will continue to advocate for the need for these professionals to lead not only this, but all health initiatives in the educational environment, thus ensuring the well-being of students and the peace of mind of families,” he added.

COENV has been insisting for months that the position of school nurse be implemented starting from the 2024/2025 school year. In this regard, it believes that the 300 positions announced by the Minister of Health, Marciano Gómez, and the Minister of Education, José Antonio Rovira, “must be filled by professionals with specific skills in the field of school nursing, able to respond to the health needs of educational centers.”

“It is very important to protect our boys and girls, especially the youngest ones who are most vulnerable to influenza. In addition to protecting minors, school vaccination has a positive impact on society, as students can transmit influenza to other people, some of whom may be seriously affected by the disease and suffer serious complications. The vaccination campaign, carried out by school nurses, is aimed not only at protecting students, but also at preventing the spread of the virus in the community as a whole, he stressed.