Anti-flu Vaccination Campaign Starts in Cuba

Cuba's pediatric population aged six years, 11 months and 29 days will receive as of Monday the anti-flu vaccination, aimed at preventing severe complications related to seasonal influenza in the Southern Hemisphere.

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The group will receive two doses of the vaccine with a four-week interval between them in a campaign designed to last until December.

Pregnant women, regardless of pregnancy trimester, and asthmatic and diabetes patients aged 19 to 24 years are also included, according to a note from the Ministry of Health.

Subsequently, adults aged 85 years and older and people in nursing homes, grandparents' houses and psycho-pedagogical centers will also be vaccinated.

In addition, poultry and livestock workers exposed to the risk of influenza will also be included.

Among those prioritized are also patients with chronic kidney failure, children aged six years and older with cerebral palsy and cystic fibrosis, and chronic psychiatric inpatients and healthcare workers caring for people with severe acute respiratory infections.

Influenza is a contagious respiratory disease caused by flu viruses that infect the nose, throat and lungs; it can cause mild to severe illness and at times can lead to death.

The national immunization program includes vaccination against 13 diseases, eight of those vaccines are developed and produced in Cuba.