A vaccine for each sector

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After nearly 10 years, when the H1N1 virus has provoked extreme measures throughout the city, myths linger over how to prevent and treat the spread of this virus and know that it's doing well of that and not of another type. of the disease.

Dr. Patricia Cervantes, Regional Medical Director of Influenza at Sanofi Pasteur-Mexico, explained to Chronic that in winter, when a large amount of virus circulates, some incubate already, for very short periods – they last 24 hours -, while "vaccines take much longer – between 14 and 28 days to create the antibodies ", which is why people think that they became sick of the vaccine.

Regarding the risks for people allergic to eggs, the specialist recalls that the vaccine is grown in eggs. However, people with allergies can apply this dose without any problem "and do not have the same precautions as anyone else regarding vaccination by For the first time, if you do not know if you are allergic to any vaccine components, you must wait 15 minutes at the vaccination center.If no reaction occurs, you can withdraw it and even go to the hospital if you have a reaction to have immediate treatment. "

"I can assure you that today, being allergic to egg protein is not a contraindication to vaccination, the only case is that if at certain occasions, the person eats an egg and experiences anaphylactic shock, if he has a very serious allergy to one of the components of the vaccine – it does not necessarily have to be the egg – in this case, you should consult your doctor. doctor beforehand ", recommends.

In this regard, Dr. Marte Hernández Porras, Infectious Diseases Specialist at the National Institute of Pediatrics, Ministry of Health and former President of the Mexican Association of Infectious Diseases, was consulted separately. awareness campaigns. vaccination in Mexico, which has enabled our country to be free of polio, measles and other diseases, such as the wild measles virus, the wild-type neonatal tetanus virus, as well as Hemophilus influenzae type B producing bacterial meningitis.

"Practically, few diseases have been eradicated, while we have better technologies to detect other diseases and, in the case of influenza, it is important to note that between 40 and 50% of cases infected people Pneumococcal, a vaccine that can and should be applied at all ages, is complicated by pneumonia, "he said.

ALL VACCINES FOR ALL AGES. Today, we have the great advantage that there are vaccines for all people: pregnant women, children under 5 years old, the elderly, adolescents, patients with comorbidities, diabetics, hypertensives, obese. .. "What's really important, besides the vaccine, is to apply them within the specified time, otherwise vaccination programs will be obsolete, especially in children," he says.

In the particular case of influenza, explains that it should be applied to newborns, half of a dose is applied at 6 months, the month after reinforcement of the other half of the dose for a better immune response and then it should be applied once a year.

In the case of diabetics, hypertensives and the elderly "should be vaccinated against influenza and pneumococcus, this protection is vital.This is not optional one or the other, these two vaccines should be put, they can even be both at once, nothing happens, "he guarantees.

"We have a lot of controlled diseases, we have to vaccinate more precisely because not having a case carries the risk of transmitting the disease to a person or person, in that sense we have many outbreaks: anti-vaccination groups to the groups of migrants who arrive without vaccines and nothing in the country, they are red lights for us to be well vaccinated. "

NEUMOCOCO, ANOTHER RISK? In addition, Dr. Antonio Luevanos Velázquez, infectious pediatrician and president of the Mexican Association of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, warns against streptococcus or pneumococcus, responsible for serious respiratory diseases of the central nervous system and the middle ear. He was involved in newborns.

The problem, abundant, is that it lives in the oropharynx, so that we can all be carriers of the bacteria and create the conditions allowing this bacterium to invade the bloodstream and cause serious infections such as pneumonia .

Another vulnerable group, in which there is a lot of work to do, he says, is the pregnant woman, who is affected by the influenza virus and where the acceptance of vaccination is low.

"We believe that one of the important factors is that the obstetrician does not recommend an adequate vaccination program.Although all the vaccines considered legendary on safety say:" It should not be applied to the pregnant woman ", there are certain months during which He can be vaccinated without risk for the product.

Another serious problem, abundant, is that every year in the country, there are more than two million births, of which 20% are teenage girls, even 10-year-old girls. If these girls do not benefit from complete vaccination, at birth, the baby is very likely to have flu and even whooping cough and may die. "Do not waste more time, you have to go and apply the vaccine.

In all this context and before the vaccination campaign already started, the Secretary of Health, José Narro Robles, had recognized that the flu vaccine did not prevent people from getting sick, of course, there was a risk of getting sick, although less strength, "the difference between being vaccinated and not, is that the vaccine saves lives".

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