Free Influenza Vaccination Now Available
The low influenza vaccination rate of just over ten percent in Austria is expected to be increased this season. Immunization against the "real flu" is recommended for everyone and, as in the previous year, is free of charge.
More Free Vaccine Doses Available This Year
This year, 1.4 million vaccine doses are available, explained Maria Paulke-Korinek from the vaccination department of the Ministry of Health on Tuesday. The best time for vaccination is "from now on," recommended doctors at the press conference in Vienna.
In the previous flu season, around 950,000 influenza vaccinations were recorded in the e-vaccination pass. The Medical Association had criticized the logistics at that time because certain contingents for the vaccinating colleagues were quickly no longer orderable. This year, in addition to the increase of 200,000 doses compared to the previous year, the ordering process for general practitioners has also been improved, informed Paulke-Korinek.
Influenza Vaccination Directly at the Doctor's Office Possible
The vaccination is once again available directly from the general practitioner, in vaccination centers, or from company doctors without detour through the pharmacy. Appointments should be made immediately, it was stated at the press conference organized by the Association of Vaccine Manufacturers (ÖVIH). "Now is the best time, especially for the children," advised Rudolf Schmitzberger, head of the vaccination department of the Austrian Medical Association, to get vaccinated soon. From December, "influenza may already be raging" and it takes some lead time for the vaccination to work best.
The flu wave reaching an endemic spread in Austria is usually declared at the end of December or early January. Currently, there are approximately 450 influenza cases in the country, reported ÖGK chief physician Andreas Krauter. The numbers are rising and the "real flu" is also not a mild illness, but causes 2,000 to 4,000 deaths per year in Austria, noted the physician.
Influenza worsens underlying conditions
Especially in older people, it can lead to the worsening of underlying conditions. The risk of stroke, heart attack, and pneumonia increases eightfold with an influenza infection, explained Paulke-Korinek and Schmitzberger. In addition to young children and seniors, the vaccination is also particularly recommended for pregnant women and those with chronic illnesses. Children and adolescents from two to 18 years old receive the vaccination via a nasal spray instead of an injection.
While the major risk groups for a severe influenza course and hospitalization - very young children and seniors - each have a vaccination rate of around 20 percent, it is only around ten percent among the working population and the general population. About half of the over four million working people work in large companies and have an occupational physician, said Eva Höltl, vice president of the Austrian Society for Occupational Medicine. Company doctors do vaccinate, but informing about vaccinations is not legally the task of company doctors unless they are preventing occupational diseases. Politics must change this, "so that we can make some progress from the ten percent," demanded Höltl.
(APA/Red)
This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.