The flu vaccination campaign has started with an ambitious goal: to exceed last year’s coverage, which was already 50% higher than the previous one. The Ministry of Health intends that 75% of those over 65 receive the puncture (last year it was 67.7%), the same percentage that it aims to reach with health workers (62% in the previous campaign) and, at least, 60% in pregnant women (61.9% in 2020) and people at risk for chronic diseases. Health authorities fear that this season’s flu epidemic will be more serious than in previous years, after 2020 there were practically no cases.
The recommendations approved by the Interterritorial Council of the National Health System emphasize increasing coverage “due to the synergistic effect observed between the influenza virus and SARS-CoV-2,” which multiplies “by two the risk of death in the event of of coinfection ”. The objectives of the campaign are, due to their vulnerability, those over 65 years of age, pregnant women and people with diseases such as diabetes, obesity or oncological diseases, among others. It is also promoted among health workers due to its contact with these patients at risk and in institutionalized people (in places such as residences or prisons).
To receive the vaccine in most of the autonomous communities you have to make an appointment at the health center. Among those over 70 it is being combined with the third prick of the coronavirus, which is injected at the same time, but in different arms.
The European Center for Disease Control (ECDC) issued a note this week warning that this season can be especially dire for the elderly. The circulation of a variant of the virus has already been observed in Croatia with a greater presence than normal at this time, which “disproportionately” affects the elderly and for which vaccines are “less effective”. “The early detections of subtype A (H3N2) are an indication that the next flu season could be serious, although we cannot know for sure what it will be like”, explains in the note Pasi Penttinen, ECDC Flu Program Director.
Although it remains to be seen what happens, this warning should serve to increase vaccination, in the opinion of Iván Sanz Muñoz, head of Virological Surveillance at the National Flu Center of Valladolid. “Flu shots are always suboptimal because they are done months in advance. The virus mutates a lot and it is not uncommon to see these variants, but they are good for avoiding hospitalizations and deaths ”, he points out. Their reasoning is that, whether or not the effectiveness of the vaccine is lowered, the more people at risk receive it, the more serious cases will be avoided.
In that sense, this expert is not optimistic. Last season there was a much higher response than in the previous ones due to fear of covid. “But in this it seems that the pandemic is ending and people downplay the importance of getting vaccinated, I don’t think we will reach the 2020 figures,” he says.
Mask, hygiene and distance
ECDC also insists on promoting non-pharmacological interventions that have been shown to slow the spread of the virus. “Physical distancing and hygiene measures can effectively slow the spread of the flu. This is especially important to consider in places like nursing homes and healthcare settings. Vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 and influenza also provides good protection against serious diseases, ”says Penttinen.
The foreseeable flu epidemic this autumn-winter will arrive in exceptional conditions. “Last year there were no cases and the immune systems may be more unprotected. Now we are seeing a lot of colds after months without them. With the flu something similar can happen ”, adds Sanz. He does not believe that what happened in 2020 will be repeated, when the influenza virus practically did not circulate. “This was due to several circumstances that converged: masks, safety distance, fewer social relationships, which are already relaxing.”
Both Sanz and the Ministry of Health itself insist on keeping the masks indoors until the winter virus season passes. “Although they will not serve to prevent the flu epidemic, it will probably cushion it and we will get fewer infections, and therefore fewer hospitalizations and deaths,” says this doctor.
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