Canarian Weekly
22-04-2016, 11:50
THE flu season is officially over – and itīs been another tough winter in the Canary Islands, with more vaccinations and more deaths and hospitalisations as well.
This was confirmed by the Canarian Government’s Directorate General of Public Health, whose chief, Ricardo Redondas, said he was broadly “satisfied” with the results achieved in terms of vaccination coverage.
More than 200,000 doses were administered, which represented 13% more than last season. But this increase did not correspond to a decrease in severe cases and deaths.
Not surprisingly, the Director-General confirmed that there had been 190 hospitalisations and 12 deaths. Of these, over 90% were in non-vaccinated people, which, according to Redondas, confirms that “vaccination is the only sure thing we have for chronic patients, and the risk of them possibly avoiding hospitalisation or even dodging death”.
Redondas added: “The flu epidemic has ended, but the strategy and monitoring of the virus is maintained throughout the year.”
The current data could also be a little wonky, confirmed the Director-General, who made it clear that “many senior citizens suffer from the virus and die in their homes without having a diagnostic confirmation.
“A lot of these do not go through the hospital system and, therefore, there are cases not counted as deaths linked to the virus.”
More... (http://www.canarianweekly.com/sneezed-at/)
This was confirmed by the Canarian Government’s Directorate General of Public Health, whose chief, Ricardo Redondas, said he was broadly “satisfied” with the results achieved in terms of vaccination coverage.
More than 200,000 doses were administered, which represented 13% more than last season. But this increase did not correspond to a decrease in severe cases and deaths.
Not surprisingly, the Director-General confirmed that there had been 190 hospitalisations and 12 deaths. Of these, over 90% were in non-vaccinated people, which, according to Redondas, confirms that “vaccination is the only sure thing we have for chronic patients, and the risk of them possibly avoiding hospitalisation or even dodging death”.
Redondas added: “The flu epidemic has ended, but the strategy and monitoring of the virus is maintained throughout the year.”
The current data could also be a little wonky, confirmed the Director-General, who made it clear that “many senior citizens suffer from the virus and die in their homes without having a diagnostic confirmation.
“A lot of these do not go through the hospital system and, therefore, there are cases not counted as deaths linked to the virus.”
More... (http://www.canarianweekly.com/sneezed-at/)