Over 130 thousand people vaccinated against seasonal influenza in Moldova

Chisinau, 30 December /MOLDPRES/ – Over 130 thousand people were vaccinated against seasonal flu in the past two weeks.

According to the National Center for Public Health (CNSP) press service, priority was given to vaccination of about four thousand children with chronic diseases and 86,700 adults, over 3,100 children institutionalized in orphanages, about 4,000 old people, over 22,500 medical workers, more than 4,800 employees of force structures and over a thousand students, residents of the University of Medicine and Pharmacy "Nicolae Testemitanu" and the medical colleges in Moldova.

Similarly, CNSP announced that so far, 78.65 per cent of professional contingent and at high risk of disease was already planned vaccinated. In Ocnita, Floresti and Straseni the received vaccine batch was exhausted and it was finished influenza vaccination campaign for winter 2016 – 2017.

Experts argue that the benefits of influenza vaccination are concerned by reducing the risk of severe disease, the number of illnesses, doctors’ visits, loss of days of work or study and prevention of hospitalizations and deaths from influenza. "Flu vaccine does not protect against other acute viral respiratory infections, but only caused by seasonal viruses influenza A(H1N1), A(H3N2) and B. During the vaccination campaign conducted, so far, there have not been reported complications or undesirable reactions to vaccination," reads CNSP’s press release.

The vaccination campaign against seasonal influenza began on 15 December 2016 in Moldova. For the cold season 2016 – 2017, Moldova received from a Chinese manufacturer a donation of 220 thousand doses of flu vaccine, amounting to about two million USA dollars.

(Reporter P. Beregoi, editor A. Raileanu)