Joint flu and Covid-19 vaccine campaign gets underway in care homes

The joint vaccination campaign against influenza and Covid-19 for people at risk of health complications began on Tuesday at the Feixa Llarga Laia González care home in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat.

The first phase of the campaign will last three weeks and will include elderly people living in care homes, patients who receive care at home and others within the care system.

The departments of health and social rights emphasized the importance of getting vaccinated "as a barrier to avoid epidemics."

From mid-October the vaccination program will be expanded to over 60s, pregnant women, people deemed at risk, people who are immunocompromised, and healthcare staff.

Low number of doses so far

It is expected that during this campaign 75% of vulnerable people will be vaccinated. 

In the coming days and weeks, vaccinations will be carried out in almost 1,000 care homes across Catalonia.

Public health secretary Carmen Cabezas said that "due to the low number of doses that have arrived so far, the vaccination of [care home] residents has been prioritized".

She has guaranteed that staff who have direct contact with residents will be vaccinated once  the rest of the doses arrive in October.

"Vulnerable people prioritized"

The general director of the service provisions at the department of social rights, Maria Rosa Pons, said that "vulnerable people are prioritized" in these campaigns, and emphasized the importance of getting vaccinated.

"Experience shows that vaccines are the most important shield against epidemics."

Vaccine for young children

This year, for the first time, all children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years, will receive a flu vaccine.

The health department also recommends that people who smoke get vaccinated.

In accordance with WHO guidelines, the flu vaccines used in Catalonia are tetravalent, which means they tackle two types of influenza A and two types of influenza B. 

The Covid-19 vaccines will, to a large extent, be designed to deal with the XBB.1.5 variant, which is the strain mainly circulating at the moment.