The flu vaccine will be available in schools for five-year-olds beginning in the upcoming school year. Beginning in October, the Generalitat (Catalan Government) will deliver the dose to students in all preschool years whose parents have given permission, via the Ministries of Health and Education.
Following last year’s unique campaign, which began with immunisations for three and four-year-old pupils, the regional administration has decided to broaden the age range to include children born in 2020, 2021, and 2022.
Vaccinations will be administered in schools—public, state-subsidized, and private—that have approved them, as well as special education centres, with the support of healthcare personnel. The Generalitat (Catalan Government) wants to make it easier for families to get flu shots and enhance children’s coverage.
However, last year, some school boards opposed this initiative. Some schools in the province of Alicante refused to host the immunisation campaign, placing the load on health centres.
The major arguments advanced by those opposed to the regional policy were that “schools are not health centres” and that “vaccines must be administered in health centres.” In addition, they contended that the bureaucratic burden cannot be borne solely by management teams and teachers.
The Consell emphasises that it is voluntary and seeks to simplify the process for families
The Valencian government launched immunisations in schools to improve access and reduce family visits to health centres. It explained its desire to encourage family reunification and simplify the procedure by administering the vaccine in the school by inhalation, which is a convenient and painless way for youngsters.
However, for this edition, the Generalitat (Catalan government) has reminded everyone that participation in the campaign is entirely voluntary, and that families who prefer to visit a health centre can schedule an appointment with a paediatric nurse to have their children immunised there.
Avoid hospitalisations and infections
Again, the vaccination will be administered nasally, which eliminates the need for a needle stick and is specifically designed for youngsters. According to the regional administration, it is a safe and effective vaccine that reduces the risk of illness and avoids up to eight out of every ten hospital admissions in children owing to influenza. It is a trivalent vaccine that is delivered in modest doses through each nostril.
The Consell has repeated that it is working to make it simpler for families to safeguard their children from the flu, since children under the age of five are the most likely to contract the disease, which can lead to problems that require hospitalisation. Furthermore, because children are the primary carriers of the disease to the rest of the population, vaccination reduces virus transmission, preventing contagion among them as well as transmission to vulnerable people, such as the elderly or those with underlying conditions, who are more likely to experience complications.
According to the regional press release, Public Health held a pre-briefing session in July to inform teachers, parents, school principals, and the education inspectorate about the major new developments planned for the flu vaccination campaign, as well as basic information about the flu, the type of vaccine, and the route of administration.
Author: Derek Appleton
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