Risk groups can now be vaccinated against influenza and Covid-19 in the Valencian Community.
The vaccination campaign against influenza and Covid-19 began this Monday in a staggered manner for risk groups in the Valencian Community. The rest of the population will be able to do so starting November 4 without an appointment at their health centers, and mobile vaccination sites will also be available next month in high-traffic areas on weekends in the ten most populous municipalities.
This was announced on Monday by the Minister of Health Marciano Gómez, who stressed that these measures are aimed at “making vaccination more attractive and making all resources available to citizens so that they can be vaccinated from the very beginning of the campaign and thus prevent routine vaccination” . peaks of infection.”
Mobile vaccination sites will open next month in areas with heavy traffic on weekends.
The goal, he stressed, is to exceed the figure of 1,162,000 people vaccinated against influenza last year (the highest figure achieved in the Valencian Community) and to be able to use the 1,250,000 doses purchased for this campaign. the amount is 12.7 million euros and “we have to buy more.” For its part, the Ministry of Health supplies Covid vaccines. There are currently 520,000 vaccine doses available in the Community and new supplies will be added every week to cover the entire population.
Gomez unveiled a new campaign with the tagline “There are many reasons to get vaccinated against flu and COVID-19. What is your reason? at the Serreria I health center in Valencia, where he was vaccinated and in this regard he was successful. stressed the importance of getting vaccinated: “Not only to protect yourself, but also to protect the environment, as the flu vaccine has been proven to prevent up to half of the most serious cases in older people.”
Joint vaccination against influenza and Covid-19 is indicated for people over 60 years of age and residents of nursing homes.
For this reason, he emphasized that the task of public health is to carry out a proactive campaign. Therefore, those accompanying high-risk people coming for vaccination will be asked if they also wish to be vaccinated at that time.
In addition, from November 3 it will be extended to the entire population through mobile sites on weekends in areas where there is a “high influx”, and the public will also be able to request the vaccine with or without an appointment with a doctor. centers during business hours. “We want to vaccinate as many people as possible,” he insisted.
These vaccination promotion efforts add new value to the vaccination of children under three and four years of age receiving intranasal influenza vaccine in schools and students in special education centers. To date, 10,837 schoolchildren have been vaccinated: 2,736 of them correspond to the province of Alicante, 1,412 to Castellon and 6,689 to Valencia.
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This season, it is also planned to vaccinate residents of 423 nursing homes, centers for people with disabilities or mental health centers, who will be administered the vaccine at the center itself.
On the other hand, he explained that the use of masks will “always” be regulated by technical criteria depending on the epidemiological situation at any given time. In this sense, he recalled that the General Directorate of Public Health has “excellent” technical specialists who monitor the incidence and hospitalizations caused by respiratory infections on a weekly basis and, depending on the development of the situation, “we will take measures.”
The campaign is now starting in stages, prioritizing groups including those who may be at greater risk of complications from the infection, who will be sent an SMS asking them to come and get vaccinated.
Vaccines against influenza and Covid-19 are indicated for pregnant women in any trimester.
Vaccination against influenza and COVID-19 together is recommended for people aged 60 years and older and residents of nursing homes or confinement facilities. Additionally, it is indicated for all of these individuals, including at-risk infants 6 months and older with risk conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, asthma, or immunosuppression for any reason, among others.
The list also includes people living with people who are highly immunosuppressed, people living with older people and people with other high-risk diseases, as well as staff of medical and social-medical centers, and staff of life support facilities. services and students of special educational centers.
Likewise, influenza and COVID-19 vaccines are indicated for pregnant women in any trimester. In this case, as experts note, the risk of contracting severe flu increases 4 times, and it has been proven that the vaccine is the most effective measure of prevention and protection of the child. The goal is to immunize her because this vaccine cannot be given to infants before they are 6 months old.
On the other hand, a specific influenza vaccine is recommended for children aged 6 to 59 months; people aged 5 to 59 years who pose a higher risk of complications from influenza, which includes children aged 5 to 12 years with at-risk conditions; people aged 5 to 18 years with long-term treatment with acetylsalicylic acid; people with celiac disease and smokers, among others. It is also recommended for students undergoing internships in medical and social health care centers, employees of kindergartens and preschool education centers; and people who have direct contact with animals on poultry, pig or mink farms or farms or with wildlife.