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ARCHIVED - Spanish health experts prepare for worst case scenario this flu season
Covid control measures have reduced the impact of flu in Spain for the last couple of years
It’s a stretch to claim that the coronavirus pandemic had any benefits, but prevention measures like masks and social distancing have definitely reduced the impact of the flu virus over the past couple of years, practically eliminating it altogether in the winter of 2020-2021. This year is a different ball game, however, and with most of the Covid restrictions abolished in Spain, health experts are warning that we should be “preparing for the worst”.
Highlighting the “unpredictable” nature of the virus, the latest report of the Influenza Surveillance System in Spain shows that flu emerged at the end of spring, peaking between July and the last week of August, only for cases to begin decreasing again in early September.
Interestingly, the highest rates this month were observed in children under 5 years old, followed by kiddies between the ages of 5 and 14.
“The flu is an unpredictable infectious disease. What we have seen last season does not correspond to what we knew from previous decades because it had two phases, one between November and December and then, after a silence, in February we regained flu activity that lasted well into spring. And in the summer months we have also had some small outbreaks,” explained one of the researchers, microbiologist José María Eiros Bouza.
The fact that the flu virus is behaving uncharacteristically, passing by almost undetected during the colder months, has led experts to fear that Spain could be in for a tough winter. The vaccination campaign will begin in the first week of October, and the best advice of virologists is that people over the age of 65, as well as those with underlying illnesses, receive the flu jab.
To book an appointment for a flu vaccine in Spain, go to your nearest health centre and present your health card. If you cannot speak Spanish, you may want to take with you somebody who can so they can help you make your appointment.
For everyone else, they recommend social distancing whenever possible, avoiding enclosed spaces and frequent hand washing.
Image: Pixabay
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