Doctors agree that vaccination is key
For an older person, the cost of getting sick in winter is much higher than for someone younger, since their “remaining functional capacity” decreases and the risk of complications and death increases, experts explain. An example of this are respiratory diseases, which until July alone have produced nearly 400 deaths per week, according to health authorities.
In a winter in which the viral load has been high, in which COVID-19 cases have not yet decreased and vaccination rates are not optimal, maintaining the care of the elderly against seasonal diseases becomes urgent.
“It is very important to maintain comprehensive care for the elderly; Mainly, having preventive measures, such as vaccines, is key,” says Dr. Claudia Ríos, from Fundación Las Rosas. She adds that “Even more so after this pandemic, since many older people have been infected with COVID and their residual functional capacities have decreased, so catching other respiratory diseases can bring greater complications and even death. They have what is called the ‘remaining functional capacity’, that is, in the face of a new infection, the body’s ability to face it and recover decreases, increasing the fragility of the elderly. For this reason, if they get sick again, they can even die earlier than expected,” explains Dr. Ríos.
Today it is not only important to comply with the vaccination against COVID-19, but also with the Influenza, Pneumococcal and all those necessary vaccines that are included in the National Immunization Program. The aforementioned vaccines protect the elderly against respiratory diseases, which, according to figures provided by the Undersecretary of Public Health Cristóbal Cuadrado, have produced approximately 400 weekly deaths in people over 65 years of age, since July of this year.
VACCINATION CAMPAIGN
Given the above, Fundación Las Rosas, together with the MSD laboratory, began the information campaign #PongámonosAlDía, whose objective is to call on the population to update their vaccination programs and comprehensive care, especially for the elderly, since getting sick it is serious for them. “Vaccination generates a positive impact not only on mortality, but also on the complications and consequences of diseases in the elderly. This is how we see it in our institutionalized elderly, who are getting less COVID-19 and experiencing fewer negative effects than in pre-vaccine times,” says Dr. Ríos.
According to the specialist, in the elderly, extreme care must be taken since the symptoms of an infection are not always so recognizable. “Because of their condition, older people often hide symptoms that can be very serious. They may not have a fever, or it may manifest as a decompensation of a chronic pathology, sometimes they only decline or feel unwell, although there may be a serious illness behind it”
In the case of infection caused by Pneumococcus (Streptococcus pneumoniae), there is a vaccine for people over 65 years of age, Dr. Ríos explains “Pneumococcus is transmitted by coughing or sneezing and by close contact. It can cause infections such as pneumonia, meningitis, or a bloodstream infection, among other illnesses. These are serious conditions that can cause severe complications and death. The way pneumococcal disease presents is with a sudden onset, with a high fever (38° or more), with great decay, cough and loss of appetite”, details the doctor.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 1.6 million people die each year in the world as a result of pneumococcal infections. In Chile, the vaccine that protects against 23 serotypes of pneumococcal bacteria has been incorporated into the National Immunization Program of the Ministry of Health since 2010 (by decree). Its application is free for the population at risk; this is people 65 years and older.
It is important to prioritize its administration together with the influenza vaccine, in order to reinforce immunization in winter, when respiratory diseases are more frequent. Currently, the vaccination rate for pneumococcus is still low in the country, reaching only 11.7%, hence the importance of informing and promoting its administration.
Influenza is another of the diseases that threaten the well-being of the elderly: “The influenza vaccine should be administered every year to the elderly, especially because the strains change every year, and for this reason, the protection lasts less . Thus, there are also strains that have a higher risk of producing epidemics and more serious diseases, such as A and B, so being protected avoids the most serious respiratory complications for risk groups”, concludes Dr. Claudia Ríos.
For older adults, getting sick in winter can be serious – G5noticias
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