Health Ministry releases flu and Covid guidelines for this season

The Public Health Commission, at its meeting on 18 July, published recommendations for vaccination against influenza and Covid-19 for the 2024-2025 season in Spain. The objective, they explain, “is to strengthen the protection of the most vulnerable populations in order to reduce morbidity and mortality, and to reduce the impact of these infections on health and social care capacity.”

Public Health recommends vaccination for people aged 60 years and older; people aged 5 years and older in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and institutions, and people aged 12 years and older with the following risk conditions; pregnant women in any trimester of gestation and women in the postpartum period (up to 6 months after delivery, not vaccinated during pregnancy, and people living with people who have a high degree of immunosuppression).

It also establishes vaccination for staff of public and private health and social health centres and institutions, as well as for people who work in essential public services, with particular emphasis on the following subgroups: State security forces and bodies with national, regional or local dependence, as well as the armed forces, firefighters and civil protection services.

In minors, childhood vaccination is established for minors aged 6 months to 12 years, vaccination priority will be given to persons with conditions associated with an increased risk of severe disease and their cohabitants: hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, certain primary and acquired immunodeficiencies receiving immunosuppressive therapy, including cancer (see Appendix 1), serious chronic cardiovascular diseases, serious chronic respiratory diseases (including severe asthma), as well as serious neurological or neuromuscular diseases.

Flu

In case of influenza, vaccination is recommended for children aged 6 to 59 months; minors aged 5 to 12 years who are at risk; people aged 5 to 18 years who have been receiving long-term treatment with acetylsalicylic acid, smokers, people with celiac disease; staff of kindergartens and preschool education centers, as well as people who work directly with animals.

Finally, regarding seasonal vaccination, the Commission assures that “the 2023-2024 season has seen very intense influenza activity compared to previous seasons”. The population group with the highest mortality, severity of illness and hospitalizations were people over 60 years old, especially those over 80 years old (unpublished CNE data).

Taking all this into account, the Commission recommends vaccination with new adapted vaccines, with preference for the recombinant protein vaccine, preferably administered to the population aged 80 years and over and institutionalised in nursing homes. People scheduled for vaccination against influenza and COVID-19 will be given a single dose of influenza vaccine and a single dose of COVID-19 vaccine, with the exception of paediatric patients or those with severe immunosuppression, who may require different recommendations.

It is also indicated that, given the epidemiological situation and the immunity acquired by the population, “vaccination against COVID-19 is not justified in individuals who are not included in the target groups described above.”

Start off

The vaccination campaign will start from the last week of September and in October (date may change depending on vaccine availability).

Vaccination may be prioritised for pregnant women, people in nursing homes and other care centres for the disabled, people aged 80 years and over, and children aged 6 to 59 months. Given the strategic importance of health and social care workers, their vaccination may also be prioritised. Vaccination will be available until the end of the season.

People who request it after an individual assessment may be vaccinated against COVID-19 outside of the vaccination campaign. In all these cases, the interval with previous doses or infection (at least 3 months) must be taken into account.

The goals for influenza and COVID-19 vaccination for the 2024-2025 season are to achieve or exceed 75% vaccination coverage among older adults and health and social care personnel, and to exceed 60% among pregnant women and people with health conditions.