The Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education and Universities announced this Monday that Ibiza has reached a 42.7% and Formentera a 49.1% flu vaccination rate among children in the second cycle of Infant Education, as part of the school campaign that has already immunized nearly 12,000 students in the Balearic Islands. Both islands maintain similar figures to Mallorca, but still below the leadership of Menorca, where coverage exceeds 53%. The second round of vaccination could raise the percentages in Pitiüses.
Ibiza: 42.7% of students already immunized
In Ibiza, 1 out of every 2 children in kindergarten has not yet been vaccinated, although the campaign has achieved that 1,497 schoolchildren out of the 3,509 enrolled in the 43 centers of second cycle of kindergarten (41 participants) have received the dose. The Government emphasizes that the extension of the vaccination to all schools has allowed a tenfold increase over last year’s figures, when only 1,217 children were immunized in a pilot project.
Formentera, above the Balearic average
Formentera registered a rate of 49.1%, one of the highest in the Balearic Islands. A
Ladillo: Comparison with the rest of the Balearic Islands
In the islands as a whole, 341 centers have participated in the campaign, with rates above 50% in 103 schools. Menorca leads the vaccination, with 53.5% of the 1,950 infant students immunized, while Mallorca reaches 42.5%. The Councilor of Health, Manuela García, and the Councilor of Education and Universities, Antoni Vera, highlighted during their visit to CEIP Aina Moll i Marquès that “the extension of the campaign has been key to stop the transmission of the virus in children”.
More children vaccinated than ever before
The Government recalled that in the 2023-2024 campaign only 18.5% of children were vaccinated, since immunization was not carried out in schools at that time. With the expanded pilot, the figure soared to 43.2%, and this year the jump is again significant thanks to the deployment of 13 itinerant teams of nurses, consisting of two nurses, a TCAE, administrative staff and drivers. In addition, the pattern is of a single dose and students in 4th, 5th and 6th grade have received intranasal vaccine, a format that has improved the acceptance of families.
Second round planned
The Health Ministry announced that a second round of vaccination will be programmed in schools with lower participation in order to improve overall coverage. The aim is to increase protection in children under five years of age, a group that has one of the highest rates of hospitalization due to influenza -only behind the elderly- and where 95% of deaths due to this disease occur in children who have not yet reached their fifth birthday. The Conselleria insists on the importance of completing the vaccination and reminds that “the centers with the lowest percentages will be visited again in the coming weeks”.
