The Torrevieja Health Department successfully implemented the “Torrevieja Immunisation Week” campaign to improve vaccination coverage for Herpes Zoster and Pneumococcus 20, particularly among vulnerable communities.
This initiative has successfully boosted coverage of Herpes Zoster and Pneumococcus 20, closing the gap between regional and national guidelines. Data estimates have avoided about 200 occurrences of herpes zoster and nearly 9 hospitalisations for severe pneumococcal illness.
Pneumococcal pneumonia is still one of the primary causes of hospitalisation in adults over 65 years old, with high morbidity, death, and healthcare expenditures. Shingles affects about one in every three people at some point in their lives, with a higher frequency in those over the age of 50 and immunosuppressed patients, and it can cause problems such as postherpetic neuralgia. The Shingles vaccine has proven to be highly effective and safe, especially in individuals with chronic illnesses.
Torrevieja has lower vaccination coverage for several diseases than the regional and national standards. As a result, the Department devised an active recruitment strategy to vaccinate people born between 1943 and 1945 and 1958 and 1960, utilising proactive communication (telephone, letter, contact with social care centres, etc.), allowing them to reach patients who do not typically seek care on their own. A total of 5,622 vaccines were delivered, including 2,171 for Herpes Zoster and 3,451 for Pneumococcus.
Vicente García, Head of the Preventive Medicine Service and Deputy Medical Director of the Torrevieja Health Department, was pleased with the results. “We continue to move forward together, convinced that prevention is an investment and that teamwork is the best tool to transform the health of our Department.”
Author: Derek Appleton
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