All the vaccines that will be available from this Monday, April 10, in all the vaccination centers in the country can be applied simultaneously, reported Dr. Héctor Castro, director of the PAI.
The Winter 2023 vaccination campaign of the Expanded Immunization Program (PAI) begins this Monday and will run until Friday, April 14. The objective is to protect the population from respiratory diseases.
People will be able to access three types of vaccines: bivalent against Covid-19, quadrivalent against influenza and pneumo 23.
Dr. Héctor Castro, director of the PAI, explained that all vaccines can be applied simultaneously without causing health risks.
“The adverse effects are not going to increase (by applying three vaccines). It is not that by putting on three, the fever will increase, the pains. The effectiveness induced by each of the vaccines against diseases will not be altered”, assured the doctor.
In this sense, he said that what is sought with this campaign “is to avoid lost opportunities by applying these vaccines simultaneously.”
He recalled that all biologicals require time to develop antibodies, which is generally two weeks.
“The vaccine exposes you to the immune system, that is, the defense. So, the defense no longer feels surprised when it is in contact with the contagion,” Castro said.
In addition, he added that from the PAI they aim to immunize priority groups, including those over 60 years of age, those under 3 years of age, pregnant women, people with underlying disease, women who care for children under 6 months of age and health workers.
The quadrivalent vaccine, which is intended for the entire population 6 months of age and older, defends the body against four types of influenza: H1N1, H3N2 and the two lineages of influenza Yamagata and Victoria.
The bivalent against Covid-19 is applied annually and protects against two types of variants of SARS-CoV-2, Wuhan and omicron. It is aimed at people 6 years of age and older who have completed the primary vaccination scheme (first and second dose).
Pneumo 23 applies to people over 60 years of age, with no history of vaccination or who have received a dose 5 years ago. This biological protects against 23 serotypes of pneumococcus, such as pneumonia and bacterial meningitis.