Caja distributes influenza vaccine

Costa Rica’s annual vaccination program against influenza (two strains of influenza A and one strain of influenza B) was officially launched Thursday at Santamaría Senior Care Center in Moravia, north of San José, with the presence of Health Minister Daisy Corrales and Ileana Balmaceda, executive president of the Social Security System (Caja).

At the opening of the vaccination campaign, which will take place gradually throughout most of the country, Corrales and Balmaceda recognized the importance for public health of the strategy that has been implemented since 2004 for seniors over 65 and other at-risk groups.

Caja staff conducted vaccinations in the Moravia Health Area,and as SeidyArce, director of the program, explained, 66 doses of 3,287 assigned to that area were given out.

These vaccines will be distributed gradually, first in the Greater Metropolitan Area and later in the remaining regions of the country. Caja authorities plan to conduct the preventive strategy through April, when influenza viruses are most prevalent.

The campaign will mobilize about5,000people across the country,and each health area will develop its own vaccination strategy.

Balmaceda said that thanks to such efforts, the average vaccination coverage is near 90 percent.