Basque Country advances flu vaccination

The flu season could come early this year: the warning from the Basque Country

Osakidetza –the health service of the Basque Country– has decided to bring forward by one week the opening of flu vaccination by appointment for the entire population in the health centers of Vizcaya and Guipúzcoa, given the epidemiological and healthcare data recorded in both historical territories, which confirm that the flu It’s ahead of schedule this year.. In Álava the current plan will be maintained, evaluating possible adjustments as the incident evolves. Starting today, all people in Vizcaya and Guipúzcoa can make an appointment through the Osakietza website or by calling the health center.

The Department of Health and Osakidetza They encourage the general population to get vaccinated and to the population at risk, especially children and young people, “because the vaccine is the best tool to prevent this disease or, at least, avoid health complications in the event of becoming infected with the flu virus.”

Incidence of flu in Euskadi

Vizcaya is currently the territory with the highest incidence, with 118 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by Guipúzcoa (45.24) and Álava (15.22). In the Basque Country as a whole, the incidence is 78.58 per 100,000 inhabitants. Flu emergencies represent 0.88% of the total; The Santa Marina Hospital stands out with 3.53%. The average occupancy of hospital beds exceeds 75% in all territories and is expected to increase with the arrival of more surgical activity. Thus, hospitals such as Santa Marina, in Vizcaya, exceed 85% occupancy.

Regarding general healthcare data, in the week of 20 to 26 of the current flu campaign, Osakidetza has registered 583 casesexceeding the 533 of the previous week and confirming a clear increase in the transmission of the virus. The accumulated number of cases in the first four weeks of vaccination (1,735) triples the figures of previous years (573 in the same period), reaching usual levels of other campaigns a month in advance.

Similarly, accumulated hospital admissions they reach 192, compared to 21 the previous year, showing a greater hospital impact. An increase is also observed in the ICU: 8 people admitted since the beginning of the campaign compared to 1 and 3 in previous years. Everything points, therefore, to an advance in the contagion curve and its healthcare impact, about four weeks earlier than what was recorded last year. Factors such as the weather and the rate of vaccination will be decisive for the evolution of the flu in the coming days.

Vaccination Reinforcement Center in Bilbao

In addition, to address the situation in the coming days, the Department of Health and Osakidetza will continue to reinforce this week in Vizcaya the vaccination point without an appointment in BilbaoLa Casilla, (from 08:00 to 20:00 from Monday to Sunday). The Center opened its doors last Friday to vaccination for the general population ages 14 and up and the response has been massive in these three days. A total of 4,799 people have been immunized against the flu.

359,000 people already mentioned

The vaccination campaign continues at a good pace, Osakidetza has offered today, since the start of the campaign on October 6, a total of 359,143 vaccination appointmentsof which more than 100,000 are people over 80 years old and nearly 19,000 are children between 6 months and 5 years old.