The Ministry and the communities prepare a care protocol with an eye toward protection against Covid or measles
The Public Health Commission, in which the Ministry of Health and the autonomous communities are represented, yesterday addressed a protocol for health care for the thousands of refugees who are already beginning to arrive from Ukraine. One of the priorities will be to offer them an “accelerated schedule” of vaccination against Covid and other diseases, as explained yesterday by the minister of the branch, Carolina Darias.
The objective is to guarantee “homogeneous treatment throughout the national territory” to refugees, who will have protection and a health card almost immediately. Ukrainian citizens will be able to be vaccinated not only against Covid but also against other diseases “that may be prevalent in that country”, such as measles or polio. In any case, Darias insisted, “it will be the experts, the directors of Public Health, who agree on this coordinated protocol.”
Communities such as Asturias, Catalonia and Madrid have already drawn up their own protocols to deal with refugee care. In the Region of Murcia, work is being done on “an adapted document”, based on the protocol of the National Public Health Commission, according to sources from the Ministry of Health. In addition, infographics of the Ukrainian childhood vaccination schedule have been prepared so that health centers have this information.
Only 35% of the Ukrainian population has the complete guideline against the coronavirus
Ukrainian refugees are entitled to a health card, like any other applicant for international protection. The express reception plan coordinated by the Government Delegation foresees that these exiles from the war in Ukraine can have the temporary protection document in less than 24 hours. From there, “they are assigned a health card number of the Autonomous Community,” they explain in the Ministry.
But, even without this card, you can access the Covid vaccine, recalls Health. “They can go directly to the vaccination points, as is already being done with all people in an irregular situation or without papers,” these sources underline.
“Maximum priority”
But what the Ministry’s protocol seeks is to promote vaccination against Covid among Ukrainians, who have one of the lowest coverage in Europe. Barely 35% of the population had received the full guideline before the start of the war. The objective is the same in the case of the children’s calendar. The Spanish Association of Pediatrics (AEP) has already prepared a guide in which it states as “the highest priority to ensure the immunization of all people against polio and measles.” Measles coverage fell in Ukraine from 95% in 2008 to 31% in 2016, as a result of the rise of anti-vaccine speeches. In the case of polio, the vaccination rate in the first dose in children is 56%, according to data from the World Health Organization (WHO). “Therefore, it is necessary to draw up a plan that addresses the reasons for the mistrust and the different facets of the problem, incorporating the participation of institutions, entities and professionals who are experts in social mediation, with knowledge of the reality of these families”, underlines the AEP.
“It’s not a risk”
This low vaccination coverage of Ukrainian refugees “does not, in general, imply relevant health risks for the population of the host country,” the pediatricians clarify, since in Spain vaccination continues to be massive. “The transmission and spread of vaccine-preventable infections is very unlikely due to the high vaccination rates of the indigenous population.” It is the people who arrive without vaccinating who are at risk, says the AEP.
At the moment, the Ministry of Health has “sufficient vaccines to meet the needs of people who may need them,” say sources from this department.
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