Influenza: Anyone over the age of 6 months can get vaccinated from today

From Monday (15), all residents over 6 months old can take the flu vaccine. Last Friday, the Ministry of Health announced the expansion of the audience. The goal, according to the file, is to expand coverage of vaccination against the disease before winter, when respiratory infections tend to increase.

“The guide responds to the request of states and municipalities, who can use the vaccines in stock and adopt local strategies to activate immunization, taking into account the reality of each region. More than 80 million doses of the trivalent vaccine, produced by the Butantan Institute, have been distributed throughout the country. The aim of It is the vaccination of 90% of the population,” the ministry confirmed, through a note.

The vaccine has only been applied to elderly people over the age of 60; children from 6 months to under 6 years old; Pregnant women, the puerperium (up to 45 days after childbirth); immunity. A native. health and education professionals; people with permanent disabilities or comorbidities; public transport and port professionals; Security and rescue workers. personnel in the military and prison system; and populations deprived of their liberty.

The file confirmed that immunization is essential because it reduces the burden of disease, especially for people who suffer from health problems and the elderly, and prevents hospitalizations and deaths, in addition to reducing the burden on health services. By the end of April, at least 253 deaths from influenza had been confirmed in the country.

emergency

The increase of more than 108%, between January and May this year, in hospitalizations for children with a flu-like illness led the Amapá government to declare a public health emergency last Saturday (13).

Overcrowding at the Children’s and Adolescent Hospital, in the capital, Macapá, has turned even administrative rooms into spaces for 32 new clinical beds. The hospital also increased the number of vacancies in the pediatric intensive care unit (ICU) from 20 to 24.

Data from the Amapá Secretariat of Health indicates that, as of the end of last week, the network of public and private hospitals had recorded more than 190 hospitalizations with influenza syndrome, 109 of which were in the Children’s and Adolescent Hospital and in the emergency room. For children. Most patients are between 7 months and 4 years old. Of the total number of patients in the hospital, 29 patients were intubated.