TRENTO. From Tuesday 2 November you will be able to receive the flu shot. The new campaign, which will proceed in parallel with the anti Covid one (let’s clarify immediately: there is no contraindication with the third dose, but also with any first or second dose), will mainly concern the over 65 population group, but in reality all are called to participate, including children between 6 months and 6 years. If last year – when we left a month earlier, at the beginning of October – the main objective was the so-called “differential diagnosis”, to “distinguish” Covid and flu, this year the concern is a possible return of the flu virus, which last winter had practically disappeared thanks to masks, hand washing, spacing and ventilation, peaking between January and February.
The Healthcare Company, which yesterday presented the new campaign, has assured that the stocks will be amply sufficient, with a potential of 200,000 doses on the way.
«The main target – added the director Maria Grazia Zuccali – are people over 65 and we would like to reach a coverage of 75% as per national plan. We will also open immediately to the 60-65 age bracket, regardless of the risk conditions ».
In detail the vaccine is recommended and free of charge for healthcare personnel, people over 60 years of age, pregnant and postpartum women, population at risk (chronically ill, family members of high-risk subjects, caregivers), children from six months to six years, employed in public services (police forces and firefighters), people who come into contact with animals for work reasons (breeders, live animal transport workers, slaughterers, public and private veterinarians), blood donors, staff of socio-educational services and children, public transport personnel, food retail workers and large-scale distribution.
Fragile people, for whom the flu could be a serious health problem, can get vaccinated at any time during the flu season. When and where to get vaccinated.
It is possible to get vaccinated from November 2nd and the vaccination becomes effective after about two weeks. Flu peaks usually occur between late December and early February.
For information on vaccination and administration just contact your doctor or family pediatrician, or book your vaccination at the Cup online (possible from Friday) in the Apss vaccination centers.
In drive-throughs, the vaccine is administered without getting out of the car.
Throughout Italy agreement with pharmacies.
In the rest of Italy, the campaign has already started for weeks. And in almost the whole country, vaccination is also done in pharmacies, but only Basilicata, Friuli and the autonomous provinces of Trento and Bolzano they have not reached an agreement with pharmacists.
The European alarm
The flu is upon us and the alert arrives from the European Center for disease prevention and control (Ecdc): early detections of the seasonal virus “are an indication that the next flu period could be serious, even if we cannot yet know it with certainty”.
The forecast worries because “a sharp rise in influenza infections during the pandemic could have serious consequences for the elderly and people with weak immune systems, with an additional burden on already strained health systems.
It is therefore important to take the necessary precautions and protect those most at risk. “At this stage, the EU agency recommends, vaccination is important but non-pharmaceutical measures, such as masks and distancing, must also be maintained. influenza in 2020-21, more than 99% lower than the norm, “indicates that non-pharmaceutical interventions, such as avoiding unnecessary crowding and maintaining hygiene measures, are effective not only in curbing the spread of Sars-CoV -2, but also of the flu “. The European Center therefore indicates that” those who work in a healthcare environment or in a nursing home should make sure they are vaccinated against both Covid and flu before the winter months “.
In Italy, apart from the two cases of influenza identified in the North in two children, for the moment family doctors report only seasonal syndromes (laryngeal tracheitis, intestinal viruses).
“For the real flu it is still early but it should not be underestimated because Covid infections are beginning to increase and certainly there is no need to add hospitalizations for the flu as well. Not getting the flu vaccine is really a risk. In any case, the requests from patients for the administration of the vaccine are very high “, says Pier Luigi Bartoletti, deputy national secretary of the National Federation of General Practitioners (Fimmg). “We must also take into account that while last winter most of the workers were in smart working and the students in dad, this year there are many more people around – he explains – and even if with a mask they can meet the flu virus. diffusion is easy. But above all we must not think that the pandemic is over, it is not so and we must protect ourselves “.
Of the same opinion Fabrizio Pregliasco, virologist of the State University of Milan. If last year the flu was not actually seen thanks to the restrictions imposed for the pandemic and a higher vaccination rate, this year “the epidemic will be there, given that we move more freely”. “The first cases detected indicated that it is AH3N2 virus, which is among the strains covered by the vaccine. In Europe the numbers detected are compatible with the season. I am thinking of countries like England and Germany, where the winter season is more advanced. In short, this year, in addition to Covid, we will also have the flu. “Let’s not forget – he concludes – that in our country, before the pandemic, there were between 6,000 and 10,000 deaths caused by complications from the flu”.
From 27 October, the course for vaccinating pharmacists, about 25 thousand throughout Italy, started on the platform of the Higher Institute of Health (Iss). Federfarma explains that the professionals who have already followed the two courses to vaccinate against Covid in pharmacies will now follow a short course on the flu vaccine: the composition, any adverse effects, the proliferation of strains.
In the following days, those entitled to, i.e. people aged 60 and over, and frail, will be able to receive the flu vaccine free of charge at the pharmacy. Others will be able to buy it and decide whether to receive the inoculation at the pharmacy by paying 6.60 euros in addition to the price of the drug or go to the general practitioner. At the moment only Basilicata, Friuli and the Province of Bolzano have not reached an agreement with pharmacists.