Covid Vaccination. Experts are confident that the vaccination campaign is underway; it's crucial to avoid a "perfect storm." They want to facilitate the widest possible participation among adults over 65, pediatricians, and vulnerable populations.
Covid Vaccination
With the pandemic not yet over and the restrictions for Covid eased; next winter, with the wave of influenza viruses arriving, risks turn in a "perfect storm”. This will happen unless we work towards a vaccination campaign that covers as many people as possible, especially the vulnerable. This was one of the messages conveyed during the meeting. “Vaccination: a protection tool for vulnerable patients", which took place in Rome at the headquarters of the Lazio Region.
Alessio D'Amato, Councilor for Health of the Lazio RegionHe explained that the vaccination campaign in Lazio will begin the first week of October. It's very important that people participate. General practitioners, pediatricians, and pharmacies are available, and they will be the backbone of this campaign with up-to-date vaccines. In addition to the flu vaccine, there are the shingles vaccines, which are very important for those over 65, as well as the pneumococcal vaccination.
Lazio Region Healthcare
For Councilor D'Amato, during the pandemic the Lazio model worked because it had the merit of uniting forces and interested parties To build a network capable of working together for the benefit of public health. To achieve excellent results, a vaccination campaign must focus on communication, which has made great strides in recent years. In Lazio, a significant effort has been made in vaccination prevention.
Prevention means improving people's quality of life and this can also happen through the digitalization of healthcare, with an integrated regional reminder system Even among family doctors, in addition to the use of social media. The help of general practitioners is strategic and essential. In the 2021 Covid campaign, out of 1,6 million doses administered, 1,3 million were administered by family doctors.
Vaccination campaign 2022
Doctors and pediatricians, but also During Covid, pharmacies represented a very important healthcare facility for citizens. Moreover, vaccination in pharmacies was mandated by the state during the pandemic to provide emergency support. In Lazio, one in three pharmacies has become a Covid vaccine administration site, especially for vulnerable patients. we know how important prevention with vaccinations is even against a simple flu; This results in a stroke risk eight times higher than average for these individuals and a 15% loss of independence in elderly patients. All of this leads to a loss of independence, a decline in quality of life, and a high cost to the National Health System. If so, considers that among patients over 65 years of age, 74% have at least one chronic disease.
Vaccination for vulnerable patients
From this perspective, Lazio has the option of using the high-dose quadrivalent vaccine for vulnerable patients, and we must convince them to do so. It is essential to achieve the minimum target of 75% coverage. It's not how much a vaccine costs today that matters, but how much it will be worth tomorrow based on the protective effects it produces. The economic balance will be preserved by shifting resources to prevention rather than treatment. Family doctors played a crucial role during the pandemic. In Lazio, a network of services has been established that has made it possible to achieve the established objectives. The next vaccination campaign is crucial precisely because it follows years of COVID-19 restrictions, which, through social distancing, had partially prevented the spread of the virus.
Fighting Covid with Covid Vaccination
In addition to general practitioners, pediatricians have also stepped in. In the year before Covid, we had already vaccinated 118 children, increasing the number of pediatricians available to administer the vaccines in their own practices from 2% to 50%. Unfortunately, we are also understaffed in this sector, and for this reason, colleagues are working together to address the staffing shortage. Furthermore, the contribution made by volunteer associations is significant, especially during the pandemic. Patient associations have helped build networks during Covid. We all have a duty to protect the population, especially vulnerable patients. This can be done by spreading the culture of prevention, of which vaccination is an important tool.
