The government of Castilla-La Mancha has approved two investments totaling almost 8.4 million euros for the purchase of 600,000 doses of seasonal flu vaccine and another 26,000 doses of meningococcal conjugate vaccine for the vaccination of teenagers.
The Minister of Equality and Spokesperson, Blanca Fernández, pointed this out and framed these two agreements of the Board of Directors, held today, in the prevention policy carried out by the Regional Executive.
On the first of the topics, the spokeswoman pointed out that the government presided over by Emiliano García-Page will acquire 600,000 doses of seasonal flu vaccine for the 2022-2023 campaign, with an investment of 7.5 million euros.
Blanca Fernández indicated that influenza is a public health problem, even more when it coexists with the Covid-19 pandemic in its different variants, for this reason she considered that “it is very important that this campaign against flu is as intense as the previous two. For this reason, we have provided ourselves with 600,000 vaccines, which we understand is sufficient to reach the magnificent data of past campaigns, given the fact that in autumn/winter these two respiratory infections can add up, causing not only health problems but also problems and strains in the health system”.
In this sense, the Minister for Equality and spokesperson recalled that “88.5% of people over the age of 60 were vaccinated against influenza during the last campaign, and the objective is to reach at minus this data”.
The flu vaccine is basically aimed at protecting people who are at a higher risk of presenting complications in the event of contamination by this virus, such as people over the age of 65, the elderly in social health centers and patients with chronic pathologies. In addition, it is recommended to vaccinate people who, by virtue of their profession, provide essential services to the community and those exposed to avian or porcine viruses.
Therefore, Blanca Fernández launched a message of awareness, because “experience tells us that adequate prevention of influenza in autumn can help reduce the impact on the pressure of health care and possible complications in the population most vulnerable”.
Meningococcal vaccination
Likewise, the Minister of Equality and Spokesperson reported the acquisition of 26,000 doses of meningococcal conjugate vaccine by the Government of Castilla-La Mancha, in particular serogroups A, C, W and Y, which in this case are intended for teenagers and represent an amount of 873,392 euros.
Meningitis or invasive meningococcal disease is a public health problem because it occurs mainly in children and causes significant sequelae and high lethality.
In conclusion, Blanca Fernández assured that “currently, vaccination programs constitute a powerful and effective tool for the prevention of infectious diseases” and thanks to them “it is possible to contribute to the control of certain communicable diseases and to obtain notable improvements in the health of the population. ”.