Free flu vaccination for children should become standard «kleinezeitung.at



[ad_1]

Flu vaccination for children is included in the free childhood immunization program. In the case of Corona, more measures could be tightened.

12.23 pm, September 21, 2020

© Fotolia / by-studio

Flu vaccination, which was included in the free childhood vaccination program since this year due to the corona crisis, aims to protect both vaccinated children and the elderly. Children are “a driver of the flu epidemic” and contribute greatly to its spread, the Health Minister said. Rudolf anschober (Greens) on Monday at a press conference in Vienna. “Go to the doctor with your child,” recommended the president of the Medical Association Thomas Szekeres, but he also called on “everyone” to get vaccinated.

“Yes only you 20 percent who vaccinates children and adolescents, then one has a better effect in terms of preventing the mortality rate among the elderly than if one vaccinates 90 percent of people over 65, “he explained Ursula Wiedermann-Schmidt, the president of the National Vaccination Board. Therefore, it is “much wiser to protect children” and influenza vaccination for young children and school children also has a “public health aspect” to do.

“We know that the infection rate among children is much higher than the population average,” said Hans Jürgen Dornbusch, head of the specialist group. Society for Child and Adolescent Medicine (ÖGKJ). Children have a higher and longer lasting virus shedding than adults, the pediatrician emphasized.

With Covid-19, younger people tend to be less affected by serious illnesses, with the flu, the proportion is different. the annual Hospitaliserungsrate for children with influenza it is 128 per 100,000 population. That’s “not so little,” Wiedermann-Schmidt emphasized. In the 2017/18 flu season, there were nine deaths among children from flu viruses and five in the 2018/19 season.

by Children and adolescents from 2 to 17 years old inclusive a so-called live vaccine is also available, which is not injected as usual, but as Nasal spray Is administered. There’s a strong aversion to syringes or if there is a blood clotting disorder, the live vaccine should preferably be used. For some basic diseases such as B. immunodeficiency or severe asthma, the live vaccine cannot be used. Discuss this with the attending physician.

450,000 to 1.3 million Austrians All age groups are affected by influenza every year, Wiedermann-Schmidt reported. That means on average about 400,000 doctor visits and sick leave. Additionally, there are 500 and an average of 1,000 deaths per year in temperate years. At the press conference, all the experts highlighted the importance of vaccination against influenza for children, pregnant women, chronically ill, elderly and health workers. The subject limit has dropped: Waiting parents can get vaccinated at their partner’s gynecologist, or parents can go to the pediatrician, Szekeres said.

Of the more than 1.2 million doses of vaccines ordered across Austria for this year’s flu season, 350,000 are now destined for the free childhood vaccination program. The city of Vienna is giving away its 400,000 cans, some of which it has asked for, free of charge for all age groups. The other vaccines are distributed by Bundesbeschlassung GmbH (BBG) broken down according to the number of inhabitants in the federal states, Anschober explained.

The vaccine to be administered with a syringe for infants from the sixth month of life and children up to two years of age is delivered to pediatricians from mid-October to mid-November, the nasal spray for children from two to 15 years from mid-November until mid-December. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, this year there will also be a free flu vaccination for the nearly 100,000 hospitalized residents of care facilities across Austria, which should be available by the end of November. “It’s not wise to panic” to vaccinate earlier, Wiedermann-Schmidt emphasized. The effect lasts for about six months and flu waves generally don’t start until December or early January with the peak in February.

The flu and the coronavirus pandemic coincide this year, Anschober said. This is an initial situation “that does not facilitate our work”, possibly also with regard to the capacities of the health system. In the two important cases of disease, corona and influenza, the same measures work apart from a flu vaccine, he asked the Minister of Health to comply with hygiene measures, keep a distance and use oral and nasal protection.

If you are with you Cold symptoms notice, then the following applies initially: Stay home and avoid contact with other people!
If you also have a fever or if the condition worsens, you should Health phone 1450 be called. TO general inquiries please choose the Infoline Coronavirus der AGES: 0800555621 .
Angel number 1450 is only for people with ailments! The following applies: Always ask by phone first, never go to a doctor’s office or hospital independently with a suspected corona!

[ad_2]