Flu vaccination begins in nursing homes and day care centers

PalmThe Ministry of Health launched its flu and COVID-19 vaccination campaign this Tuesday, targeting both residents and staff at nursing homes and day centers in the Balearic Islands. In total, the vaccination target is 4,814 residents, of whom 4,277 are residents of nursing homes; 527 live in centers for people with disabilities; and 10 are patients with chronic illnesses, according to press releases issued by the Ministry of Health and the Consell de Mallorca.

On the occasion of the start of the campaign, the Director General of Public Health, Elena Esteban; The Deputy Director of Chronic Disease Care, Social and Health Coordination, and Rare Diseases of the Health Service, Estefanía Serratusell, and the Vice President of the Mallorcan Institute of Social Affairs (IMAS), Maria Magdalena Garcia, visited the La Bonanova nursing home, managed by the Consell de Mallorca.

This campaign involves administering two vaccines—against the flu virus and COVID-19—to both residents and users of day care centers and to the professionals working there, with the aim of strengthening the immune system and reducing the risk of infection.

75 residential centers

Vaccinations will be carried out in 75 residential centers: 54 senior residences (39 in Mallorca, 9 in Menorca, and 6 in Ibiza and Formentera), 20 residences for people with disabilities (18 in Mallorca, 1 in Menorca, and 1 in Ibiza), and one residence for patients with chronic illnesses, located in Mallorca. A total of 4,277 senior residence users (3,368 in Mallorca, 424 in Menorca, and 485 in Ibiza and Formentera) and 527 users of centers for people with disabilities (446 in Mallorca, 21 in Menorca, and 60 in Ibiza) will be eligible for vaccination.

Both the Vice President of IMAS and the Deputy Director of Chronic Care have agreed to emphasize the importance of vaccination to prevent complications arising from the flu and COVID-19. "Vaccination is key to preventing the effects of the flu and avoiding possible complications in the most vulnerable people, such as the elderly," Garcia argued, thanking the IB-Salut team for traveling to the IMAS centers to facilitate vaccinations.

The vice president added that this measure "can be decisive in reducing the risks associated with these diseases in the most vulnerable population" and stressed that "the health of the elderly is and will continue to be a priority." Starting this Tuesday and over the next few days, vaccination is scheduled to be extended to the rest of the Consell de Mallorca nursing homes: Hogar de los Ancianos, San José and Oms-Sant Miquel (Palma), Son Caulelles (Pórtulo), Huialfàs (sa Pobla), Bartomeu Quetglas (Felanitx), and Mielca de Miquel (Felanitx).