The Evolution of Adult Vaccination: A Milestone for Public Health – Interview with Specialist Nurse Begoña Reyero

D. RUIPÉREZ / A. ALMENDROS.- Begoña Reyero, specialist nurse in Family and Community Health of the Canarian Health Service, analyzes the evolution of vaccination in our country, which has gone from focusing exclusively on children to extending it to age adult. During the pandemic, Reyero was the regional coordinator of the vaccination strategy against COVID, the largest vaccination campaign in history, a true milestone for the nursing profession. And she, she is one of the authors of the guide of practical recommendations on vaccination in adults healthy edited by the General Nursing Council, through its Research Institute, with the collaboration of GSK and the endorsement of the National Association of Nursing and Vaccines (Anenvac).

How has vaccination in adults changed in recent years?

There have been some changes over the years regarding everything that has been vaccination, the concept of vaccination and the vaccination process. Vaccines are the key pillar of public health in the prevention of diseases. Over the years we have seen that childhood vaccines played a leading role. But in 2019, the ministry, seeing the need to extend these recommendations to the rest of the population, began with an update and completed this vaccination schedule from children to adults, even adding risk groups, with which there was already a different look at which begins to focus on those adult vaccines, which have always been given, such as the flu, tetanus…

But it is true that this evolution began to place more emphasis on the fact that vaccination was not just a thing for children. The vaccination schedules from 2019 onwards consolidate this need to address vaccination throughout life. It was an important turning point and means that as health professionals we have to put in much more effort in terms of knowledge and updating.

Do you think the pandemic has changed the population’s view of vaccination a little?

I think the pandemic highlighted the importance of vaccination. People began to understand that there were preventive measures that helped and the majority have understood that thanks to COVID vaccination we minimize the mortality and morbidity of this disease and that thanks to that we managed to control this pandemic, which has been beneficial. It is true that it has been a campaign with very specific considerations. There has been a lot of information in the media, something that perhaps is not done with the rest of the vaccines, but I think it has been useful and has highlighted the need to get vaccinated and, above all, to encourage them to ask the healthcare about what vaccines I can get, what diseases I can prevent…

If the adult is still a little reluctant to get vaccinated, what are the strategies that nurses can practice with the adult patient to raise their awareness a little more?

I would like to send a positive message about that reluctance that you speak of a little about the population. We continue to have data of little real reluctance to vaccinate. What we do need is to continue investing in training, therefore, as a first measure, perhaps what we have to do is bring the information, the concept of a vaccine, of a disease closer to the population. Therefore, we must carry out communication campaigns both at the public health level and at the individual level in our consultations to be able to address that slight reluctance that there may be, which may simply be doubts regarding vaccination.

But then it is curious that the health workers, who tell you about the benefits of the vaccine, have very low vaccination rates. How can we change our colleagues’ minds?

You are absolutely right, we have that healthcare population as a reference in the advice to vaccinate and we should lead by that example. We must continue to inform all health workers about prevention measures and make them aware that health advice can be given anywhere. When you are a healthcare worker, you not only have to care, but also take care of yourself to be able to transmit that message.

To help them a little so that they have updated information and can better do this informative work, we have the Guide to practical recommendations on vaccination in healthy adults What is this publication going to contribute to colleagues?

It is a guide in which we have worked with the vision of making it easy, collecting the most relevant information based on scientific evidence about vaccination, the principles of vaccination, the act of vaccination, the types of vaccine, the calendars and the tools that They help promote this vaccination in the population and health personnel. Therefore, it is a very easy guide, very comfortable and accessible to all healthcare providers in the national territory.

2024-02-18 16:00:22
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