Currently, 25% of the Spanish population suffers from some cardiovascular disease, respiratory diseases are also common: 9.1% chronic obstructive respiratory disease (COPD) and approximately 5% asthma, there are also numerous people with kidney and liver diseases… all of them. They are chronic pathologies, all with a high impact on the quality of life of patients. Diseases that They can worsen with infections such as flu, Covid-19, pneumococcus or shingles, and cause complications that today are preventable thanks to vaccines against the viruses and bacteria that cause them.
However, these patients with chronic pathologies that worsen with respiratory infections, or those with immunosuppressive treatments that weaken their immune system with these pathologies, They do not have such an optimal vaccination coverage rate as experts recommend and what your health needs. A situation that is repeated among all population groups.
According to data from the Vaccination Information System of the Ministry of Health (SIVAMIN) referring to 2022, only 61.57% of those over 65 years of age are immunized against influenza, increasing to 75.27% in the case of the elderly. 75 years old, and falling to 20% in adults under 64 years old. In the case of pneumococcus, the vaccination rate does not cover barely 50% of those over 60 years of age and against Covid-19, only 46% of those over 60 years of age are vaccinated from the complete schedule.
“It is necessary that primary care doctors primarily carry out patient health education and inform them of the wide range of immunization”
There are no data on immunosuppressed patients or patients with chronic pathologies. but it is known that the immunization rate is equally low, as reported in this environmentLucía Expósito, president of the Crohn’s and Ulcerative Colitis Association (ACCU). A situation that contrasts with the high benefits that these vaccines provide to patients with cardiovascular, respiratory, kidney, neuromuscular, and hepatic problems, with autoimmune pathologies with diabetes or with morbid obesity; or those with immunosuppressive treatments.
THE BENEFITS OF VACCINATION IN THESE PATHOLOGIES
Patients with the aforementioned pathologies can develop serious complications and even die in the case of being infected by viruses such as influenza, which causes the flu. Pneumonia or exacerbations in the case of COPD or asthma, which can lead to death. In the case of cardiovascular diseases, it has been shown that The risk of mortality is 2.5 times higher in the case of respiratory infection, as stated in an article published in the Spanish Journal of Cardiology of the Spanish Society of Cardiology (SEC).
These complications, which require hospital admissions and can lead to death, can be avoided with vaccines. Raising awareness and making this reality visible to society and the most vulnerable patients is a challenge faced by the different agents of the health system. Medical and nursing offices are the key places to get these messages across. “In addition to campaigns, it is necessary that mainly primary care doctors “carry out patient health education and report on the wide range of immunization,” he told ConSalud.es. Dr. Fernando Moraga-Llop, spokesperson and senior member of theSpanish Association of Vaccinology (AEV).
“Not all of them are seasonal, the one for pneumococcus or whooping cough, for example, can be applied whenever you want, which makes adherence easier.”
In this sense, he continues, it is important that these professionals inform about the benefits of vaccines, the administration periods, and, in short, the importance of administering them. “Not all of them are seasonal, the one for pneumococcus or whooping cough, for example, they can be given whenever one wants, whichever facilitates adhesion”, Dr. Moraga-Llop emphasizes. “Depending on the characteristics of each patient and the pathogen in question, they will have to be vaccinated more or less frequently.”
At the same time, the former president of the Catalan Association of Pediatrics recalls that advances in knowledge of the different existing pathogens are allowing develop different vaccines that in the future could protect against other pathologies that today do not have an effective prevention tool in adults.
In this context, the latest addition to this therapeutic arsenal has been the RSV vaccine, commercialized for over 60 years and whose indication has recently been expanded to people between 50 and 59 years old. “However, the Ministry of Health has not yet given its recommendations and “We are still waiting for its official incorporation into the Vaccination Schedule,” the expert denounces.
ConSalud’s content is prepared by journalists specialized in health and endorsed by a committee of top-level experts. However, we recommend that the reader consult any health-related questions with a healthcare professional.