Vaccination against monkeypox in Alicante | These are the risk groups that have priority for vaccination against monkeypox.

The Ministry of Health has already implemented new vaccination regimen to prevent monkeypox virus infection (mpox), after switching on Hospital services of preventive medicine as vaccine administration sites to facilitate access to people who are among those at-risk groups.

The first group includes people at risk who should be vaccinated. before potential exposure to disease and what is this they engage in risky sexual practices; especially, but not exclusively, men who have sex with other men. Also those who are at risk due to the nature of their activities, that is, professionals working in specialized consultations, laboratory personnel or personnel responsible for surface disinfection in specific risk areas.

In these cases, at-risk populations can access vaccination by scheduling an appointment by phone at the provincial CIPS, as has been the case up to now. What is new is that at-risk populations can now be vaccinated at the Preventive Medicine Service of the referral hospital. Referrals to this service will be made from health centres, satellite offices, continuing care sites or sexual and reproductive health centres. These people will also be referred to preventive medicine specialists from the emergency department or outpatient clinics for internal medicine, infectious diseases, dermatology and others.

As for those traveling to affected countries, the Ministry of Health has so far said that they can contact the International Vaccination Centers, where an individual risk assessment will be carried out, depending on the type of trip and the characteristics of the virus, and the traveler will decide on the appropriate action.

close contacts

The second group of people who are recommended to be vaccinated are thosethose exposed to the disease, including all close contacts who did not have the disease, These are primarily people at risk of serious illness and complications, as well as exposed health care and laboratory workers.

For this group, the Conselleria vaccination scheme establishes that the Public Health Centres of the Valencian Community will refer contacts identified when a case is detected to receive the vaccine.

In addition, if a person shows up at any of the health centres listed above and claims to have been in contact with a sick person, they will be referred to the appropriate preventive medicine service for vaccination assessment.

Finally, those health workers who are at risk They will go to their occupational risk prevention department for referral to the Preventive Medicine Service for both pre- and post-exposure vaccination.

Where?

In each of the three provincial capitals, the ministry has a CIPS. (AIDS Information and Prevention Center)where, among other things, the smallpox vaccine is administered. As a result of the expansion carried out by the autonomous administration, all public hospitals of the Valencian Community with preventive medicine servicesa (except HACLES), and who already have doses of smallpox vaccine.

The Ministry has already provided all the specialists and services involved with all the information about the vaccination scheme. All that remains is update it in relation to travellers in accordance with the criteria established in its protocol by the Ministry of Health. and which should be provided to regional administrations in the near future. As its representatives stated last Wednesday at a meeting of the Public Health Commission at the request of the autonomous communities.

“Normal”

Health Minister Marciano Gomez said that “although in the Valencian Community the epidemiological situation is normal, On the part of the Ministry, we would like to continue this expansion measure, because we are talking about make all resources available to people who are at risk to facilitate immunization with a vaccine and prevent disease.”

In this sense, the minister launched a double signal to the population in general and risk groups in particularp. “As experts note, citizens in general can rest assured because we are not facing a situation like COVID-19” he noted. “In addition,” Gómez continued, “people at risk must know that the Generalitat has the necessary means to guarantee their vaccination.”

The head of the Ministry of Health insisted that “vaccination, recommended only for humans who belong to certain risk groups, Along with epidemiological surveillance, these are two fundamental points of prevention of IPC, and we have been working on this even before the WHO declared an international emergency.”

Gomez explained that the vaccination scheme “was designed with a double aspect: on the one hand, measures were established for people belonging to risk groups and, on the other hand, for those exposed to confirmed cases.”