The Ministry of Health of the Canary Islands Government has announced that will include in its calendar the meningococcal vaccine against serogroup B ('Bexsero'). It thus becomes the first autonomous community that finances it, something that the Spanish Association of Pediatrics has asked for to be extended to all communities.
It will also include in its calendar the tetravalent conjugate vaccine against meningococcus (following the example of Castilla y León) and a new vaccine against nine genotypes of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV). This will make The Canary Islands have the most complete vaccination calendar in the country.
In Babies and more Vaccine calendar 2019: these are the noveltiesAlthough there are currently 12 meningococcal serogroups described, the vast majority of cases of Invasive Meningococcal Disease (IMD) (95% of cases worldwide) are produced only by 6 serogroups: A, B, C, W, X and Y.
So to increase protection against the disease, they have decided to include the tetravalent vaccine (against serotypes A, C, W, Y) that will replace the meningococcal vaccine C and add the Bexsero vaccine against meningitis B.
This change in the vaccine calendar will be available predictably before summer.According to the Ministry, the measure involves a "strong investment effort of around three and a half million euros and an increase in investment of around 33 percent." The fundamental objective is guarantee fair access to vaccines, within a Global Strategy against communicable diseases.
In Babies and more If pediatricians recommend it, why is the Bexsero vaccine against meningitis B not funded in Spain?The meningococcal B vaccine it will be administered in a two dose schedule plus one. The first two doses in the first year of life, and the third, as I recall, in the second year of life.
On the other hand, the HPV vaccine against 9 oncogenic genotypes (included in the new Gardasyl 9 vaccine) will replace the doses of HPV vaccine that are currently included in the childhood vaccine calendar, in the same number and time sequence.
And the other communities?
Undoubtedly, it is fortunate for children in the Canary Islands who may be immunized in a subsidized manner against one of the most prevalent types of meningitis in our country (65% percent of cases) and whose vaccine is a great cost for families (106 , 15 euros the dose).
However, it is inevitable to ask Why not for all the children of Spain? As you know although the Spanish Association of Pediatrics has been asking for years to unify criteria, each community has its own power in which vaccines included in its calendar.
News like this shows that a single vaccination schedule as complete as possible throughout the Spanish territory is urgently needed without inequalities and that protects the health of all children, wherever they live.
In Babies and more The meningitis B 'Bexsero' vaccine: everything you need to know
