Influenza vaccine: the solution to prevent complications of infection

Influenza is a highly contagious disease. It spreads easily through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes. That’s why, when a cold comes, sick people fall into a domino effect, transmitting the virus to each other.

The real concern comes when the infected person belongs to one person Population group susceptible to this disease. What does it mean? That this person, because of his or her health condition, has a high risk that the flu will lead to complications that are more serious than the infection itself. Due to the high rate of infection, it is necessary to realize the importance of influenza vaccination. It is not just a self-defense mechanism, but rather the most effective alternative to protecting the environment.

To address this problem, pharmaceutical company Sanofi wanted to bring together three professionals from the health sector to share knowledge and put the importance of influenza vaccination at the center of the conversation.

Participants, Dr. Esther Martinezgeriatrician at Hospital de la Santa Cruz, La Dr. Amelia Caroa cardiologist at the Corvelwood Institute, and Dr. Esther Redondoa family doctor in the SEMERGEN IMVAP working group, exchanged views and came to a common conclusion: the importance of getting vaccinated against influenza, especially if you belong to a population group at risk of infection.

“Worrying” context.

Dr. Redondo, who is also in charge of the vaccination area of ​​the health center where she works, began her speech by talking about‘Sanofi grip scale, a demographic study monitoring the evolution of influenza vaccination coverage in different population groups. It is implemented in different waves and during the influenza vaccination campaign, allowing information to be obtained at the national level, by the independent community and in different age groups.

The doctor confirmed that this year’s data is “desperate” because Coverage for people over 60 is currently around 48.5%Which means that coverage has decreased compared to the previous year on these same dates.

However, Dr. Redondo emphasized that in this year’s influenza vaccination campaign, the positive news was that children aged 0 to 5 years could also get the vaccine as a population at risk.

For her part, Dr. Caro wanted to add this to people over the age of 60 who suffer from cardiovascular disease “Influenza is underestimated”Therefore, “vaccination is not necessary.” The cardiologist said: “Facing this situation, our only hope is to vaccinate children under the age of five and protect their grandparents from contracting the flu.”

Population is at risk

At the extremes of life are the main population groups vulnerable to disease. In other words, children under 5 years old and people over 60 years old. In terms of age, they are considered a vulnerable population, either due to immaturity of the immune system or aging.

Specifically, it should be noted that in Spain, during the 2019/2020 season, between 70-85% of deaths associated with seasonal influenza occur in people over 65 years of age.

Dr. Caro noted that people with chronic diseases, such as those with kidney, cardiovascular, respiratory or liver problems, diabetes or chronic anemia, among other possibilities, are more likely to suffer from complications. Dr. Redondo added to it pregnant women who pose a great risk to themselves and their fetus, and health workers, due to their daily contact with people infected with the disease.

Dr. Martinez focused on the population over 60 to show that the flu is not often a problem. However, it is very common to see that after a few weeks they develop complications in the cardiovascular system. In fact, official data confirm this Influenza is on the riseUp to 10 times the risk of myocardial infarction, up to 8 times the risk of stroke and pneumonia and increases blood sugar by up to 74%, in completely healthy people..

Dr. Caro added that people over the age of 60 who have diabetes, high blood pressure, or smokers, among others, have higher numbers of complications after influenza than a healthy person, and that these complications can lead to hospitalization. According to data from 2008 to 2018 in Spain, the number of hospitalizations for this group of people was 26,4% Of the total.

Get vaccinated for prevention

“If you get vaccinated against influenza, it is likely that you will still get this infection, but you will pass it like a cold, or in any case, mildly, without complications. However, at-risk populations who decide not to get vaccinated are not exposing themselves to “Not only infection, but the disease can lead to risks of hospitalization and even death.” In addition, he stressed that the influenza vaccine has been working for more than 50 years, stressing that there are “millions of people who have been vaccinated, and moreover, it is an inactive vaccine, so it is impossible to contract influenza due to vaccination.”

Likewise, Dr. Martinez emphasized that there is “conclusive evidence regarding the decline in income in people over 65 years of age who have decided to be vaccinated.”

Scientific evidence

Currently, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) only evaluates influenza vaccines for adults on the basis of immunogenicity outcomes, that is, their ability to generate an immune response. Therefore, studies that use observational and randomized methodologies may be the future of research in this field because they are useful in showing the real effect of vaccination in reducing complications associated with infection. The three doctors agreed that the scientific evidence is more than provable.

Regarding the vaccine burden, Dr. Redondo explained that moderately effective vaccines are more efficient as the number of vaccinators increases. He stressed that for older people who suffer from the disease more severely, “there are specific vaccines.” In addition, Dr. Martinez added that vaccines with enhanced immunity “are those that have shown better results among the elderly and vulnerable populations.”

For her part, Dr. Caro ended the question by analyzing that among the patients suffering from cardiovascular diseases there “Lots of strong, specific scientific evidence regarding vaccines.”. Finally, it put cardiovascular patients on alert after beating the flu. “If we notice symptoms similar to those we had during the outbreak, such as a stroke or a heart attack, we should be very attentive,” the cardiologist explained, adding that “symptoms that we do not normally experience can also be a reason for inquiry.”

Make people aware

As in many other areas, education is a fundamental pillar of citizen awareness. “For this, it is necessary to have time for consultation, and primary care is saturated, among other things, due to the bureaucratic burden,” Dr. Redondo said. “The health authority must rely on health professionals in vaccination campaigns and there must be more public investment,” the family doctor stressed. For her part, Dr. Martinez pointed out that “vaccination is the key to healthy aging and should be internal, like nutrition or exercise.”

Dr. Caro focused her latest contribution by referring to influenza as “a cough and a fever and something else,” which is “something else” that could be “very concerning,” given that cardiovascular disease is “the most fatal in the world” and can be caused by Or worsened by influenza.

Finally, he addressed the misinformation and myths surrounding the vaccine, appealing to “proven scientific evidence” as a reliable source against the opinions of non-experts, and calling for the vaccine to be the best means of prevention.