The flu vaccination campaign continues in Guadalajara – news from Alcala de Henares and del Corredor

With the goal of achieving 75 percent coverage of the population over 60 years of age.

The 2024-2025 flu vaccination campaign began this week in Guadalajara, with the goal of achieving 75 percent vaccination coverage among the population over 60 years of age and 60 percent among pregnant women and populations at risk.

Health Delegate Pilar Cuevas and Guadalajara Integrated Zone Manager Elena Martin attended the launch of the campaign at the Guadalajara Sur Health Center, where they called for the participation of the groups included in the campaign, which is the main focus of the campaign. Public health prevention strategy of the Government of Castile-La Mancha.

Pilar Cuevas recalled that the influenza vaccine is safe and effective and is “one of the best means of protection against the disease, since in the case of risk groups it prevents serious complications, hospitalizations and deaths resulting from the joint spread of the virus.” influenza virus and other respiratory viruses.

The delegate thanked for the cooperation of the staff involved in the campaign, both in the field of primary health care and nursing, as well as in the field of pharmacy, occupational health, preventive medicine, GUETS, socio-medical groups and public health services of the delegation, as well as management services and guidance.
The Government of Castile-La Mancha is investing “more and more in prevention and vaccines to promote health”, and if in 2015 the investment in the vaccination schedule amounted to 5.8 million, this year it has risen to 39 million euros, of which five million correspond to influenza vaccines.

For her part, Elena Martin influenced prevention efforts and called for “massive” participation in the campaign, while expressing gratitude to both professionals and the population at risk “who are actively collaborating and taking action in this campaign. Thanks to this campaign, we are able to reduce the incidence influenza, minimizing the serious consequences and hospitalizations associated with it.”

The flu and Covid vaccines are offered simultaneously to the most vulnerable groups. The deputy director of the primary health care service of the Guadalajara traffic police, Antonio Pérez, recalled that the target groups of this campaign are the population over 60 years of age, patients with chronic diseases, cancer or respiratory pathologies, as well as people with obesity or smoking, agricultural workers, infants, public service workers, caregivers, staff of medical or social health centers and others.

What is new is that this campaign includes employees of kindergartens and preschool education centers who are part of these risk groups.

The influenza vaccines that will be administered in the current campaign will be quadrivalent and trivalent, with broader coverage of different influenza strains and tailored to strains more likely to circulate.

This year in Castilla-La Mancha, more than 500,000 doses have been received for the flu campaign: 200,000 for the population aged 60 to 64 years, minors from 6 to 23 months and people from other risk groups. There are 300,000 doses available for people aged 65 and older and another 31,000 for children aged 24 to 59 months.

The simultaneous vaccination campaign against influenza and Covid is being carried out in stages, primarily among people in medical institutions and workers in social health centers or residential buildings, as well as people over 80 years of age, and in the future it will decrease by age group. The COVID-19 vaccine can be given at the same time as the flu and pneumococcal vaccines.

On the other hand, vaccination of children against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) began on October 1, an action that received high adherence last year and has demonstrated its effectiveness, reducing the number of hospitalizations for this disease by 80 percent.

Other recommendations
To avoid infections, vaccination as a basic tool is accompanied by hygiene and sanitary measures based on the use of a mask when recommended, frequent hand hygiene, ventilation of rooms and the use of paper napkins, which must be thrown away after each use.
It must be remembered that the flu, although contagious, is, as a rule, not a serious process unless there are hidden pathologies. Symptoms disappear after a few days and are treated with analgesics and antipyretics, but not antibiotics, and plenty of fluids should be consumed.

Photo: J. Javier Ramos Gonzalez. SESCAMS