Spanish health board pushes for all children to be vaccinated against the flu

A SPANISH health board is pushing for all children to be vaccinated against flu by rolling out a campaign across schools and nurseries.

Catalina García, the regional minister for health and consumption of the Junta de Andalucía has announced the launch of a series of plans to promote flu vaccination for children aged six months to five years.

Parents will be informed about the benefits of this vaccine and the collaboration of nurseries, school nurses and pharmacies will be requested.

The campaign, organised jointly with the Ministry of Educational Development and Professional Training, will be the first of its kind in Andalusia, following recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Spanish Association of Pediatrics.

As it stands the south Spain region only reaches 16.4% of the target population, reports El Correo.

Las vacunas son una herramienta segura y eficaz. Lo han demostrado frente al #COVIDー19.

¡Protégete ante la #gripe y el Covid!

Más info: https://t.co/vnx6d7lue2#AndalucíaSeVacuna #YoSíMeVacuno pic.twitter.com/pcfObPtnNc

— Consejería de Salud y Consumo (@saludand) November 12, 2022

During the announcement, García stressed that: “It has been shown that more cases of flu occur at these ages each year.

“And that among these children there are as many serious cases requiring hospital admission as among people over 60 to 80 years of age.”

The councillor added: “We cannot forget the role children have in the transmission of the virus to the rest of the population, especially worrying when we refer to older people, with chronic pathologies or immunosuppression.

“Half of flu deaths in children occur in patients without risk factors, and it has been estimated that influenza vaccination is 65 per cent effective in preventing flu-associated deaths in these children.”

The information campaign will be for parents with children of these ages about the benefits of this vaccine through IPASEN, the educational monitoring app.

García has detailed, they are going to seek the collaboration of the employers of CECE private educational centers so that this information also reaches nurseries.

Health and consumption, which foresees a flu epidemic peak in three weeks, is going to intensify vaccination for children under five years of age over the next two weeks, increasing accessibility to health centers in the afternoons.

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