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Florence, September 30, 2020 – Promises to be the greatest influenza vaccination campaign never done to date in Tuscany, with 1 million and 462 thousand doses compared to more 750 thousand of the last few years. An almost doubled effort (with an expense of approx. 8 million euros) but that does not stop leaving some fronts uncertain: firstly, the supply of doses to people not included in the risk categories who, in the past, chose to buy them and then be administered by the doctor.
It is expected within the first ten days of October (optimistically it could also be the date of 5), in Tuscany, the start of the vaccination campaign, which this year features various regional and national innovations. First, change the age of older people entitled to the free vaccine: no longer 65 but 60 years.
They will be the first to benefit from the doses, along with children (6 months to 6 years) and those belonging to the categories at risk for health or professional reasons (doctors and health workers, teachers and school operators, police forces, public services and subjects in contact with the public).
The mechanism activated upstream of the administration of the vaccine is also different (tetravalent or trivalent adjuvant to be administered depending on the type of patient). Family doctors and pediatricians (in addition to Ausl) will be the first vaccination front and, given the exceptional amount of work expected this year, they will be supplied directly from local pharmacies, thanks to an ad hoc agreement with the Region, without having to withdraw the Ausl doses. Pharmacies, for their part, will ensure the preservation of vaccines (which must be refrigerated) and the availability of stocks.
«This year the flu vaccination should be done in a way as vast as possible – explain from Tuscany region – to avoid dangerous confusion between Covid and flu symptoms. It is also important to avoid the pressure that, each year, the influence exerts on hospitals in winter and that this year could add to a possible second wave of Covid. So an unprecedented amount of flu vaccine was purchased, also looking at a different delivery system.
However, the exceptional purchase of vaccines by the regions has depleted stocks, almost completely eliminating the availability of doses on the free market. In the past, those who did not fall into the risk categories but still wanted to protect themselves could go to a doctor and buy the vaccine on their own at the pharmacy.
This year many citizens who wanted to move in this direction have been told no: pharmacies already know that they will have great difficulties to dispose of doses. in the free market. It is true that this year, for the first time, the Ministry authorizes the regions to administer the vaccine also to the categories that are not at risk, but only at a later time, giving priority to those that need it most.
«According to our calculations – we still explain from the Tuscany region – the quantity of doses bought in Tuscany it will be enough for all those interested, even for those who do not belong to the risk categories that may have it within a few days or weeks of the start of the campaign, as soon as the priorities are available ”. According to an investigation by Gimbe FoundationIn Tuscany, the doses reserved for “not at risk” in the total purchases made are 225,661, the fourth highest figure after Puglia (1,084,634), Lazio (926,291) and Sicily (256,796). How many questions there will be in a particular context like this year is unknown. To see how it goes, you just have to wait.
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