Former Minister of Sebastián Piñera described the campaign against the syncytial virus positively, but warned about the pressure placed on the healthcare network, questioning the delay in the strategy implemented against influenza.
This Wednesday, June 26, the Ministry of Health (Minsal) delivered a new Respiratory Virus Reportalso sharing an assessment of what the winter campaign has been like in the context of the rise in the circulation of respiratory diseases.
According to what was detailed by the head of the Department of Epidemiology of the Minsal, Christian García, lpositivity reached 42% in the week ending June 22, which is a slight decrease compared to the previous seven days.
However, among all circulating laboratory viruses, rhinovirus and especially syncytial virus have increased especially among children under one year of age, which is why authorities have called for maintaining and reinforcing preventive measures during the winter holiday period.
At the same time, the Minsal called to avoid closed spaces with little air circulation, not to send children to meetings with other minors if they present symptoms, to continue wearing a mask, and to pay attention to the routes of contagion, such as cough and the sneezes.
There is still no relief
Asked about this situation and the government’s handling of health matters, Sebastián Piñera’s former Minister of Health, Jaime Mañalichsaid he is concerned about the pressure on healthcare networks: “people are detected to be circulating the virus, but they get sick and develop complications in the following weeks.”
“So, This drop in virus circulation is not yet seen as relief in the situation and need for hospital demand,” he later stressed.
Regarding the vaccination campaign, particularly in children, he assured that “The government has had a campaign that I consider successful”“This is not the case with the influenza vaccination campaign, but it has been successful in all children born after October 1st of last year.”
Regarding influenza, for which more than 7.8 million people have already been vaccinated (representing 81% coverage), the former health authority says that “it was poor.”
“Coverage, when it was supposed to be reached on May 15, was very weak, with less than 60% of the population. In that context, vaccination occurred late, it occurred once there were these fatal cases in the Ñuble Region,” he adds.
There were many “more cases of serious influenza”
According to the former Secretary of State, “people, once frightened, rushed to get vaccinated and found that the vaccine was not available.”
According to Mañalich, because “the doses that had been purchased were not enough to comply with the government’s own campaign.”
“It must be said with complete frankness, we had many more cases of serious influenza, with hospitalization, with demand for emergency services, burden on hospitalizations of intensive treatments (in many hospitals more than 100% occupancy was reached),” he said. the former Minister of Health.
For Mañalich, “this could have been prevented with a good campaign, which unfortunately was not carried out.”
Photo credit: Agencia Uno
