Pediatricians recommend extending seasonal flu vaccination to all children and adolescents, from 6 months to 18 years old, instead of limiting it to children between 6 months and 5 years old, as is currently the case.
The recommendation launched this Thursday by the Spanish Association of Vaccinology (AEV) is based on the high level of contagion of the virus, which particularly affects children, the main transmitters of the disease. Every winter, influenza causes between 4,000 and 6,000 hospitalizations of children and between 8 and 10 deaths in Spain, highlighting the need to increase protection in this age group to avoid serious complications.
AEV spokesperson Fernando Moraga-Llop explained that although the most serious cases occur in children under five years old, especially those under one year old, the virus also presents a significant risk to older children and adolescents. The new recommendations would include vaccinating people over the age of 5 and adolescents with underlying illnesses or conditions that increase the risk of complications. On the other hand, babies under 6 months cannot receive the vaccine and must be protected indirectly by maternal vaccination.
During the last flu season, Spain recorded more than 4,239 hospitalizations of children under five years old, of which 822 presented serious complications, 249 were admitted to intensive care and 8 died, according to Moraga-Llop . He also stressed the importance of vaccinating children against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which causes most bronchitis.
Back to school increases infections
With the return of children to classrooms, cases of influenza tend to multiply, affecting between 10 and 20% of the population each year, according to Iván Sanz, head of the scientific and virological surveillance department of the National Center for Valladolid flu.
This year, the Ministry of Health has again recommended the flu vaccine for early childhood education staff who work with children under the age of five, as they are considered an at-risk population, as well as ‘to smokers. The vaccination campaign, which will run throughout October, aims to reduce morbidity and mortality and mitigate the impact of influenza on health system capacity.
