The nurses of the primary care centers (CAP) of Catalonia, nails 5,700 (26,700 in the overall health system), they will have to put this year more vaccines than ever. He vaccination schedule This season is expanded and nurses, in addition to all the vaccines they already give each year, will have to immunize too of the flu to children between 6 and 59 months (five years of age) and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV, responsible for bronchiolitis) to those babies under six months. Last year, in addition, two other vaccines had already been added: that for herpes zoster in people between 65 and 80 years old (not 65 to 80 years old) and that for human papilloma virus in sixth grade children.
All this, as the nurse from Lleida says Pepi Estany, member of the vaccine advisory board of the Ministry of Health and member of the Family and Community Nursing Association (Aificc), involves “more work” and there will be no reinforcement of the squad due to the lack of health personnel. “There will be no staff reinforcements because we don’t have nurses. There are no nurse bags. We have a very problem important of professionals of all types”, assume. He takes it philosophically, even though he is aware that this year is a “very large expansion of the vaccination schedule.”
When does the campaign start?
He 19th of this month The Salut vaccine advisory council will meet to decide, among other things, the date of this year’s flu and covid vaccination campaign. With no decision still on the table, what can you expect? “We will have to vaccinate those same risk groups that we already vaccinated of the flu – people over 60 years of age, immunosuppressed, nursing homes, healthcare workers, chronically ill people. I do not think it is indicated to vaccinate against covid general population”, Estany points out.
Estany argues that the current situation is “very different” from the beginning of covid. “At that time no one had any kind of immunity. Now, even if we lose it, we are not so exposed to the virus like then,” he explains. He says he is not “clear” if the general population you have to “revaccinate.” “The general population don’t get the flu vaccine and now we are in the same situation, since the covid became ‘flu'”, point.
The Public Health Commission of the Ministry of Health has already established that people over 60 years of age, health workers, public service workers such as police or firefighters and the chronically ill receive a new dose next fall and winter. For people who have strictly followed the Health instructions, it would be the fifth dose (or sixth in the case of chronically ill patients), but all people belonging to the target groups can receive it, regardless of whether they have received the previous injections. or not (allowing at least 5 months to pass since the last dose or infection)
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This nurse trusts that pharmaceutical companies will achieve a vaccine whose immunity lasts longer. “Because, if not, there will be people who will have to get vaccinated every year. Just like the flu,” he insists.
SARS-CoV-2 is not a problem right now in the primary care centers (CAP) of Catalonia, although in the last week the virus increased up to 70% in Spain overall. “It is true that in the last month we have seen more, but they were very old people with some pathology who had a fever, you did the test and it ended up being covid.” However, many young people have gone through it mild and has not even gone to the CAP. “They have only come those who needed the leave because they felt worse,” he points out.