They warn of low herpes zoster vaccination coverage due to COVID-19 fatigue and an increase in hoaxes.

ANGEL M. GREGORIS.- The lack of official data and the low coverage of vaccination against herpes zoster in the regions where it is reported are the two main problems facing the National Health System in terms of what this vaccine is used for. This was revealed at the webinar “Update on Herpes Zoster Vaccination: A Nurse’s View”, organized by the Institute of Higher Medical Training (ISFOS) of the General Nursing Council in collaboration with GSK, where experts in the field analyzed and shared the need to support this vaccine and promote strategies to ensure that the population knew about her.

“We are talking about a relatively new vaccine on our calendar that needs wider roots in society and among the target population. We all know someone who has been affected by it, and for many people it causes such enormous pain that it can even affect their personal, work and social lives. We know that vaccines work, and as nurses we must convey this to the population,” says Pilar Fernandez, director of ISFOS.

Flaws

As discussed throughout the day, the biggest drawbacks facing this vaccine are post-pandemic vaccine fatigue and the number of anti-vaccine hoaxes that exist on social media. “We must promote correct information through networks and media, and provide scientific evidence to support correct vaccination. Likewise, setting an example and vaccinating health workers is a good way to raise awareness among the rest of society,” explained Miguel Angel Acosta, a doctor specialized in family medicine at the Continuing Education Unit of the Primary Health Care Directorate Community of Madrid.

In the same spirit, says Raquel García-Flores, coordinator of nursing and vaccination in the health sector of Tres Cantos II (Madrid), who decided to carry out similar training at ISFOS in order to “be able to convey information clearly.” are truthful to the user and clarify his doubts.” “We need to be a trusted source of information to the public and also learn how to communicate effectively with the public. It is useless for us to accumulate a lot of knowledge if we then do not know how to transfer it to the population. It is not easy and requires a lot of time investment, but every time we give a person the opportunity to get vaccinated, because we give him the right information and resolve his doubts, it is a big victory,” the nurse emphasized. .

Complications

The vaccine, available from 2022, reduces the number of people who develop herpes zoster by about 90%, and those who develop it have a 90% reduction in complications, which can range from the typical painful blisters to chronic pain or even some potentially serious such as encephalitis, inflammation of the central nervous system or blindness, as reported by the doctor at the time of his intervention.

“There are no data at the national level or for many autonomous communities, but the ones we have, such as Castile and Leon, Madrid, Andalusia, Murcia and the Valencian Community, agree that they are relatively low, ranging between 45 and 55% for the first dose and decreases by approximately 10% for the second dose. These figures show that when vaccinating adults, especially when it is aimed at healthy people, different strategies are needed than those aimed at on-demand vaccination and working in the pediatric population,” emphasized Alejandro Cremades, nurse at the Health Center. Community of Elda (Alicante).

Spaces for learning

And it was these strategies that were the most talked about at the training, which more than a thousand nurses signed up for. “We need to create places where patients can learn about vaccines, where they can ask their questions, where they can easily get vaccinated. We must educate through consultation, and we can also educate the community through community projects and educational sessions,” Garcia-Flores emphasized.

In this sense, he noted that “it is necessary to create places where patients can learn about vaccines, where they can ask their questions, where they can easily get vaccinated. We must educate through consultation, and we can educate the community through community projects and educational sessions.”

Recruitment Strategies

For his part, Cremades listed ways to promote vaccination and recommended the implementation of communication and recruitment strategies, especially for those who have a recommended and funded vaccine, in addition to “opportunistic vaccination (that which is carried out at any contact with the health care system of those people to whom they are recommended).

“There are events in the media that reach many people, events in patient associations, pensioners’ associations or in collaboration with city councils. They have also proven to be effective, especially when combined with the mentioned outreach activities, recruitment through messages or phone calls,” explained a nurse from Elda.

Funded

Cremades also states that “vaccines are currently funded in Spain for people aged 18 years and over with certain pathologies causing severe immunosuppression (haematopoietic stem cell transplantation, solid organ transplantation, treatment with anti-JAK drugs, HIV infection, malignant hematopathies, tumors). treatment with chemotherapy, a history of several previous episodes of herpes zoster and, in some communities, other treatments causing immunosuppression) and, on the other hand, at a certain age, although with variations in age chosen depending on each autonomous community, but, in of all of them, this election is for people over 65 years of age.”

However, it is important to remember that anyone aged 50 or over who is not included in these groups can benefit from the protection provided by these vaccines, albeit without funding, by asking for a prescription from their GP.