Reach

For the first time, Andalusia incorporates immunization for children under six months of age against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), the cause of bronchiolitis, into the vaccination schedule. The doses are already in the health centers and hospitals of the different provinces, in the case of Córdoba, and according to the data provided by the Health Department of the Board to The dayThey are some 5,417 doses those that will be administered starting this Monday.

To this end, groups have been established that include the children born on or after April 1, 2023, up to those born on March 31, 2024, those under one year of age with a history of being born before 35 weeks, and those under two years of age at risk of severe bronchiolitis and high-risk conditions such as congenital heart disease. Children over two years of age belonging to risk groups will be immunized at the Reina Sofía Hospital, in the Preventive Medicine Service, while other groups, including children under two years of age with Down Syndrome, will do so through Primary Care. in health centers.

Las 63,600 doses in Andalusia They will be distributed in 13,341 for Seville, 11,819 for the children of Málaga, 8,691 in Cádiz, 7,943 in Granada, 7,435 in Almería, 5,417 in Córdoba, 4,814 in Jaén and 4,141 in Huelva. The recruitment of these children will be done from the health system, by phone call, so parents will not have to call or make an appointment. Likewise, children born after October 1 will be immunized in the hospital before being discharged from maternity.

Healthy children are included for the first time

The Primary Care pediatrician at the La Fuensanta de Córdoba health center, Montserrat Montes, explains to this newspaper that this virus causes “true epidemics” of bronchiolitis in children every season, generating numerous visits to both health centers and clinics. pediatric hospital emergencies, leaving up to 10 or 20% of children admitted.

Although there are recognized situations or diseases that increase the risk of suffering from severe bronchiolitis, 98% of cases admitted and 75% of infants admitted to Pediatric Intensive Care are healthy under six months, that is, without any major previous illness.

In this scenario, this new immunization against RSV with the drug Nirsevimab “It represents an innovation and an important achievement,” highlights the pediatrician. Until now, only children belonging to the risk groups for severe bronchiolitis were immunized and, starting this Monday, healthy children under six months of age will also benefit, “with the incentive of Nirsevimab being much more efficient and also reduced to a single dose”.

The pediatrician also explains that it is an immunization, not a vaccine. The difference is that with a vaccine the child actively creates his or her antibodies, while in an immunization of this type the antibodies are injected directly, which generates faster protection. Nirsevimab is a monoclonal antibody that is manufactured in laboratories with a special technology that has been shown to be “very safe and effective.” Its commercial name is Beyfortus and there are two types of syringes: 50 mg (for infants weighing less than five kilos) and 100 mg (for those weighing five kilos or more).

What is the origin of bronchiolitis?

The cause of bronchiolitis is viral, being the VRS the one mainly involved, and the one that causes the greatest clinical impact, accounting for 70% of hospitalizations. There are other viruses such as rhinovirus, adenovirus, among others, that can also cause it.

What side effect does immunization have?

The most common adverse reaction is mild-moderate rash, which appears two weeks after the vaccine. As with other immunizations on the calendar, a fever and local reaction may appear in the injection area after a week.

Why is it important to put it?

The most important reason, Monserrat Montes clarifies, is to avoid hospitalizations and complications due to this infection, with the suffering it causes for the child and his family, and to reduce its incidence. According to clinical trials, Nirsevimab can prevent more than 80% of bronchiolitis cases due to RSV and, therefore, of admissions for an infection with a variable evolution for which there is no specific treatment.

The vaccine also seeks to avoid the well-known care overload that every autumn-winter causes RSV at different levels of care, coinciding with other seasonal viruses, “favoring coinfection and therefore complications, without forgetting the bronchial hyperreactivity that this infection can cause.”

Have cases of bronchiolitis increased in recent years?

Although the disease “is an old acquaintance”, which usually appears between autumn and winter and is combined with the flu, Last year there was a significant increase in bronchiolitis and other viruses after the withdrawal of containment measures caused by Covid, and due to the lower circulation of viruses in previous years, according to the pediatrician. The situation led to a multitude of consultations in Primary Care, Pediatric Emergencies and an increase in hospitalizations.

In light of this situation, the pediatrician at the La Fuensanta health center has taken the opportunity to reiterate the importance of keep children’s vaccination schedule up to date. “The vaccination campaign against influenza begins right now, another infection that causes epidemics, with which this new immunization does not present any interference,” he explained. Nirsevimab does not interfere with the rest of the vaccines included in the children’s schedule.

Likewise, he recalled the importance of frequent hand washingthe ventilation of spaces, promoting smoke-free environments, using disposable tissues, and “use of common sense: if we suffer from an infectious process, we promote avoidance measures with vulnerable people, among whom are our little patients.”

2023-09-24 04:20:00
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