Cuban Anti-Flu Vaccine Campaign Starts Today

More than 500,000 million Cubans will be vaccinated nationwide seasonal flu from today to December 15, health authorities stated.

All people with more than 85 years of age, about 150,000, and the people from other ages included in the most vulnerable groups, will receive a single dose of the vaccine during the campaign, Maria Josefa Llanes Cordero, head of the National Program for Control of Acute Respiratory Infections of the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP), told the press.

She also emphasized that the hardest hit provinces by Hurricane Sandy, mainly Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo and Holguin, will develop particularized strategies.

These will be carried out in line with the situation in each place, and always prioritizing their needs, Llanes said, also stating that the groups to be vaccinated in these provinces will join the people who are still in shelters.

She further said that the reactions associated to its administration are mild, such as redness of the injection site and a general malaise without complications. It should not be taken by people with allergies to egg protein.

Cuba has been carrying out these campaigns on the same date during the last 13 years, considering that from October to March, with a seasonal nature, there is a rise of acute respiratory diseases in the nation, among which influenza is a particular health problem.