Castilla y León faces the arrival of the flu peak with four out of ten people over the age of 60 not vaccinated and with numbers of health workers in immunized hospitals timidly exceeding half, 55 percent, 20 points below the target set by the Ministry of Health. And all when the virus coexists with that of Covid-19; already exceeds epidemic levels; the peak is expected to be brought forward compared to the usual calendar, also for the beginning of December, and when it will be demonstrated that the vaccine is the best ally to reduce the degree of disease and also to avoid serious conditions, including deaths.
The Sacyl coverage data to which Ical has had access show that the vaccination campaign is progressing more slowly than expected, with more than 345,000 people over the age of 60 having not gone to the health center to receive the dose, of which 792,000 are guests. Specifically, vaccination coverage for over-60s is 56.2 percent, one month into the campaign.
The truth is that the figures lose weight for the group of people between 60 and 64 years, where the percentage is 32.7 percent. Furthermore, among 65-year-olds and up to 69-year-olds, also considered at risk, the figure closes with 47.8 percent, a rate considered low at this point in the vaccination campaign. In the case of those over 75, almost 30% have yet to be vaccinated, according to the latest vaccination follow-up report updated this week, which indicates coverage of 71.3%.
This is the general trend in all provinces, with much lower coverage than in the last two campaigns, when serums ran out in a month and a half, with unprecedented figures that exceeded the limit of the previous campaign in 30 days. And if this is the situation between two of the major groups at risk, if you analyze the data of insiders, the data is not encouraging.
Thus, coverage among hospital professionals, a group considered at risk within essential workers, also does not invite optimism. At the moment the average is 55.4 percent, when the Ministry of Health set the target for this campaign at 75 percent, the same as in the last two seasons. It is true that these are already higher figures than was usual before the outbreak of Covid-19, when the coverage target of 40 percent was usually set, and rarely exceeded 30. This target group becomes one of the usual handicaps, since pre-pandemic vaccination coverage rates were very low.
Situation in the provinces
The community situation is the general trend in all provinces. It is true that Salamanca accumulates the lowest rates, with only 45.6 percent of the over-60s vaccinated. The province of León is also below the regional average, with 53.1%. The highest data are collected in Palencia and Soria, with 62.4 and 62.5 percent, together with Zamora, with 60.4 percent.
The province of Ávila reaches almost 60 percent. Like Burgos, Valladolid and Segovia, with coverage of 57.6 percent in the first case and 59 percent in the other two.
As far as hospitals are concerned, the data on vaccinated toilets in Medina del Campo, in Valladolid, stands out, with 96.2 percent. Even Santos Reyes, in Aranda de Duero, exceeds the target set by the ministry, with 76.2 percent.
Above 55 percent of the regional average of those immunized are the health complexes of Ávila (65.5 percent); Burgos (62.8); the Santiago Apóstol in Miranda de Ebro (60.2); that of Salamanca (57.8 percent), as well as that of Segovia (65.6 percent), as well as that of Zamora (69.2 percent). Soria adds 59.8%.
The rest, except that of Palencia (52.9 percent) does not reach half. El Bierzo hospital, with the lowest data, reaches 35.9 percent, together with León hospital, with 40.3 percent. Then there are those in the capital Valladolid, with 46.6 percent in the case of the Río Hortega University Hospital, and 52 percent in that of the Clínico Universitario.
recommended groups
The flu vaccination is essential for the chronically ill, as it protects them from possible aggravations and complications that the flu can cause in their underlying conditions, so it is essential that they immunize themselves against the disease.
The health risk groups to which the flu vaccine is recommended are those over the age of 60; adults and children over six months of age suffering from chronic diseases, whether pulmonary, cardiac, renal, hepatic, oncological, severe neuromuscular, diabetic, hypertensive, immunosuppressed, haemophilia and chronic bleeding, recipients of blood products and multiple transfusions, cerebrospinal fluid fistula , celiac disease, chronic inflammatory disease, among others.
Furthermore, it is indicated in people with disabilities and/or cognitive deficits; chronic institutionalized patients of any age; Children and adolescents aged between six months and 18 years receiving prolonged treatments with acetylsalicylic acid, due to the possibility of developing Reye’s syndrome after the flu.
Furthermore, it is aimed at people with morbid obesity -body mass index greater than 40-; children between the ages of six months and two years with a history of prematurity less than 32 weeks; and pregnant women, at any time during pregnancy, and postpartum women, if they were not vaccinated during pregnancy.
Vaccination is also considered necessary for residents of any age in institutions – geriatric and care for the chronically ill, mentally handicapped, etc. -; health center operators; people who can transmit the flu to patients at risk: operators in care centers for the elderly, social workers with similar dedication -care for chronic patients-; caregivers and cohabitants with people at risk; students doing internships in health centers; essential services for the community (firefighters, state security forces and bodies, civil protection, etc.); farm workers and poultry slaughterhouses and others related to the environment; and staff of educational centers at any level of education.
