The International Vaccination Center, which is in the midst of a summer campaign, was visited by the Government’s deputy delegate, Abel Losada, who highlighted the great work that is being done in this service, where vaccines are administered to people who travel to risk areas abroad. Losada, accompanied by the head of the External Health Service, Óscar Vilariño, shared part of the morning with the two doctors and the three nurses of the center, as well as with some of the people who came to receive their dose.
The Vigués Center serves more than 3,500 people a year and administers close to 3,000 vaccines of which the majority are yellow fever, typhus and hepatitis La, since they are necessary, according to international health recommendations, to travel the vast areas of the planet, distributed mainly in South America, Africa and Southeast Asia. The public fee per administration of each vaccine is 19.46 euros.
Abel Losada highlighted the speed with which the International Center works, which administers doses in just over a week since an appointment is requested through the website of the International Vaccination Center, although it is also possible to request it in person or by telephone. According to data from the annual report, around 60% of vaccines are related to tourist travel, while 30% correspond to the work activity of the maritime sector. The rest are for students, collaborators, military or members of the State Security Forces and Corps on an international mission.
Data from the first half of the year underpin the growing trend in holiday activity, since a total of 2,067 people were cared for between January and June, which is more than 22% with respect to the same period of the previous year. Not all of them come to inject themselves, as the Center also provides a medical consultancy service with health advice to visit any area of the planet. In the first half of this year, 1,245 doses were inoculated (28% more than in 2023). However, not all people who come to be informed immediately get the vaccine, since statistics show that so far this year there are about 500 who risked traveling without protection.
In addition to yellow fever, typhus and hepatitis La, other formulas are also administered, such as polio (forced to visit certain parts of Africa and Asia under certain circumstances), meningitis tetra (required in Saudi Arabia for people from Muslim countries on pilgrimage to Mecca), rabies (prescribed for certain professional activities related to animal welfare in many countries) or central European encephalite (recommended for people visiting a large area between southern Germany, Austria or Slovakia to carry out outdoor activities and specifically to prevent the effects of the tick bite). Finally, the Center also administers anti-malaria medication, a prophylaxis that was applied to 375 people.
In addition to the international vaccines, the staff of the Vigués Center administers any “calendar” vaccine that is recommended to go abroad, such as the flu, chickenpox or triple virus. Also any vaccine that the users acquire in the pharmacy and may be recommended before traveling depending on the circumstances or the areas.
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