The care home in Zaragoza vaccinated 25 of its residents. “It has been very well received,” said África Orensán, director of Primary Care for Zaragoza I. Some residents even received all three vaccines on the same day: “You simply have to leave two and a half centimeters between two vaccines, and they can be administered in the same arm without any problem.” In the case of RSV, the dose is administered every three years, so this year it will mainly be given to those who did not receive it during the previous campaign and to new residents.
Zaragoza I currently has 52 care homes, which will progressively join the campaign. Last year, according to its director of Primary Care, vaccine acceptance was high and coverage rates increased significantly. She said part of that increase was due to the work carried out by nursing teams and measures such as vaccination without an appointment. “Those who get vaccinated not only protect themselves, but also those around them and the community,” she stressed.
THE CAMPAIGN BEGINS IN CARE HOMES
Among those vaccinated this Monday was Pilar Lorente, who has lived at the care home for six years and faithfully attends this appointment every season. “I get it every year,” she said after receiving the flu and COVID vaccines. She had a slight fever after the injection last year, but that did not make her hesitate: “I’m getting it again this year. If they give it, there must be a reason.”
Pilar also said she felt virtually nothing during the vaccination. “It didn’t hurt at all, as if they hadn’t done anything to me,” she joked. Her confidence in vaccines goes back a long way, and she remembers receiving the ones recommended for her even as a child. “I get everything they tell me to,” she summed up.
Anuncia also received all three vaccines from the nursing team, although she admitted that she prefers not to look during the injection. “I’ve always been vaccinated,” she explained. Blanca Llorente, meanwhile, decided to get the flu vaccine precisely because she is now living in a care home. “I wasn’t going to get vaccinated against anything, but since there are so many of us here, I thought: what if the flu gets in?” she said.
