“It is very important to vaccinate children because they are the main carriers of influenza.”

Mid campaign flu vaccinationThe President of the Galician Pediatric Society, Susana Rey, calls on the population to be better prepared in the face of the epidemic that visits us every year, and defends the role of vaccines in individual and collective health. “Influenza is a non-trivial disease; it causes numerous hospitalizations and complications. Anything we can prevent with a vaccine is welcome,” he emphasizes.

How do you see the vaccination schedule for children in Galicia?

This is one of the best calendars we have in Spain, although we must try to improve it and update it year after year, seeing the results of previous years. Last year the British said it was one of the best calendars in the world.

What does this include?

In recent years, our schedule has included a vaccine against meningococcal B and ACWY, which cause cases of invasive meningococcal disease. This disease, although we all think that there are few cases per year, and fortunately this is true, it has a very high mortality rate and long-term consequences. Its inclusion in the systematic vaccination calendar was an innovation. We also included immunization of the youngest children under 6 months of age against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which in the fall-winter season caused a large number of hospitalizations, especially for children under 6 months of age. years. RSV also occurs in many cases in the adult population, especially in people over 60 years of age.

Does the vaccine act as a barrier in children?

In addition to directly protecting children, it also builds immunity for the entire population, since children are the largest carriers of diseases, especially respiratory diseases. Often grandparents who play the role of caregivers end up getting infected from children, which is why we always say that people at the most extreme ages are the most vulnerable.

The Covid vaccine is here to stay.

Covid is still among us, not just as a pandemic, which has been a moment of chaos, suffering and uncertainty, like any other disease where you have many cases and you don’t know exactly how it manifests or how it will progress. In addition to Covid, it is very important to get a flu shot, because we have it every year. If we see the number of flu cases, hospitalizations and indirect costs, absences from school and work, then this impact is very important for the population and does not exempt from complications and severe complications equal to those that occur with covid or worse.

In Galicia, children from 6 to 59 months are vaccinated against influenza.

We have included it in the last two years, although there are other supporting populations that need to be vaccinated, such as children over this age who have some kind of risk factor (asthmatics, kidney problems, rheumatological diseases or chronic diseases), and it is also recommended for vaccination. healthy children over 5 years of age living with people at risk, having a mother with asthma who uses corticosteroids, or a grandparent with cancer or rheumatological disease. Although they are a priori healthy children, they are cohabitants and often great carriers of this type of respiratory infections due to the socialization that they have at this age.

The Spanish Society of Pediatrics recommends flu vaccinations for children under 18 years of age. What do you think?

I think this is great, so every year we have to analyze infections and their behavior in order to make changes to the vaccination schedule. The flu vaccine is recommended for people under 18 years of age and up to 100 years of age. When we analyze the incidence of the disease, just as we saw that in children under 5 years of age the incidence was high, we also see a rebound in adolescents, at 14 and 15 years old, depending on the lifestyle they lead. , they are in peer groups that are infected. Even if they do not have risk factors, since they are a priori healthy, it is necessary to analyze the environment in which they live. There is no point in vaccinating the sick person himself, as well as those who live with him.

Will there be a meningitis vaccine for teenagers?

This is one of the recommendations that we are analyzing for vaccinating adolescents against meningococcus. It is likely that new meningococcal vaccines will be released in the coming months or next year, which will make the task easier, since it is a multi-serotype vaccine that will increase coverage in adolescents with one dose. This is more than stated.

How do you see participation in the campaign?

As a pediatrician, I always say that it can be improved, we want the rates to be above 80%, that would be a dream. Last year we were one of the best communities in Spain, but there is still work to be done. We must insist on two things: increasing public awareness and underestimating influenza virus infections. It is very important to vaccinate children as they are the main carriers of the disease. I also speak to those of us whose professions involve risk due to the nature of the work we do, such as health care workers, whose coverage levels could be greatly improved. Another very important group for vaccination is pregnant women.

Pregnant women are rarely vaccinated, what is the danger?

Parents have already realized that the pediatrician is going to tell them which vaccines to give their children, unlike other health care providers, they are not as integrated in providing this information. In a pregnant woman, it is necessary to ensure that the disease does not harm her and the fetus; it becomes more complicated.