Spain is experiencing a flu epidemic which cannot be compared to that of recent years, since this season the increase in infections has multiplied considerably, especially in Madrid or Catalonia. The responsible for this is a new subvariant of the H3N2 influenza virus called ‘K’. And this has made us ask many questions, such as whether vaccines work or not.
The figures. The flu epidemic is generally recorded throughout Spain, but not homogeneously. In the regions of Catalonia and Madrid, the curve is presented as a true vertical line that reminds us of the worst of covid. But the good news we have in this case is that hospital or ICU admissions are not increasing significantlyas pointed out by the Carlos III Health Institute.
The weapons we have. That there are many cases of flu at this time is normal. That is why we have tools such as vaccination in the last months of the year to try to control infections or at least reduce symptoms in the case of contracting the disease. The problem is that viruses are very ‘damn’ and have the ability to easily outwit vaccines. making changes to its structure. In this way, we train our body to fight against a virus that subsequently has small modifications that mean it cannot fight it 100%.
To try to alleviate this, flu vaccines count in their preparation with the most common strains of the flu virus (that is, its different types) so that we can fight them. Especially considering the variants that existed in the previous season.
Graph of cases in the Community of Madrid in Primary Care
The ‘k’ variant. It blew up all the prevention plans that were made in our country, causing the virus to have a small modification that makes our body unable to fight thanks to previous training. Something that could confirm the WHO and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control which after testing in the laboratory They saw that the virus has an easier time bypassing the first defense barrier.
But it works. This is where the vital nuance comes in to avoid falling into alarmism. And even if the virus manages to infect us, the vaccine continues to fulfill its main function: preventing us from ending up in the hospital or ICU. Something that matters (a lot) for older people or those who have an illness that reduces their defenses.
Despite that “escape” in the laboratory, preliminary data from the real world, coming from the UK (UKHSA) and endorsed by the ECDC, provide reassuring figures on the effectiveness of the vaccine, since in children the effectiveness remains between 70-75%and in adults hospitalization is avoided 30-40% of the time.
Why are there so many cases? As we say, the current situation means that the virus can be transmitted without problem, and we have a vaccine that, although it protects against ending up in the hospital, does not stop transmission. This causes many people to be sick, but without a significant increase in mortality or hospital admissions that strains our system as we live in Covid.
You have to get vaccinated. With all this data, the conclusion we can draw is that it is advisable to get vaccinated. Something that we already see in the different communities that encourage us to do it with massive campaigns that monopolize to the entire population and not only those that present some risk like the older ones.
This also adds to the obligatory that some autonomous communities have established to wear a mask in health spaces such as a hospital. At the national level, only the recommendation to do so prevails.
What should be noted is that children are undoubtedly the most important group in this case. This is because they are very prone to becoming infected by being in contact with other children, but their system responds well and they do not present major symptoms or they take a long time to develop. The problem comes when you can spread it to your entire environment where you can find older people like your grandparents. This makes them perfect vectors for this virus.
Images | National Cancer Institute Nikita Broutman
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