Both vaccines can be given on the same day—a practical efficiency that removes one barrier to uptake.
Cada otoño, las sociedades modernas renuevan un pacto silencioso con la medicina preventiva: el de proteger a los más vulnerables antes de que llegue el frío. Navarra formaliza ese pacto en octubre, lanzando una campaña conjunta contra la gripe y el COVID-19 dirigida principalmente a mayores de 60 y 70 años respectivamente, con el objetivo de reducir hospitalizaciones y muertes durante los meses de mayor riesgo. La iniciativa refleja una lección aprendida con dificultad: que la eficacia de una vacuna no depende solo de su ciencia, sino de cuántas personas deciden recibirla.
- La gripe y el COVID-19 siguen matando y colapsando hospitales cada invierno, y Navarra responde con una campaña coordinada que arranca a mediados de octubre.
- Los datos del año pasado revelan una brecha preocupante: menos de la mitad de los mayores de 65 años se vacunaron contra el COVID-19, y las embarazadas apenas alcanzaron el 39% de cobertura frente a la gripe.
- Para reducir barreras, ambas vacunas pueden administrarse el mismo día, y los ciudadanos pueden pedir cita por app, teléfono o de forma presencial.
- El sistema enviará SMS a los grupos prioritarios —comenzando por los mayores de 80— para que nadie quede fuera por olvido o desinformación.
- Las vacunas demostraron el año pasado evitar 330 hospitalizaciones por gripe en Navarra, con una efectividad del 47% y 42% respectivamente, cifras modestas pero con impacto real en vidas.
El Departamento de Salud de Navarra pondrá en marcha a mediados de octubre una campaña conjunta de vacunación frente a la gripe y el COVID-19 que se extenderá hasta mediados de diciembre. Los principales destinatarios son las personas de 70 años o más para el COVID-19 y las de 60 o más para la gripe, aunque también se incluyen embarazadas, residentes en centros sociosanitarios y personas con condiciones de salud que las hacen especialmente vulnerables.
La lógica de la campaña es sencilla: ambas enfermedades pueden matar, hospitalizar y sobrecargar el sistema sanitario. Vacunar a quienes tienen mayor riesgo de complicaciones graves es la forma más directa de amortiguar ese impacto. Además, las dos vacunas pueden administrarse en la misma visita, eliminando así uno de los obstáculos más comunes para la vacunación.
Pedir cita es fácil: a través de la app Carpeta Personal de Salud, llamando al centro de salud en horario de mañana o acudiendo directamente. La consejería enviará mensajes de texto a los grupos prioritarios, empezando por los mayores de 80 años, y recordatorios dos días antes de cada cita.
Los datos de la campaña anterior, sin embargo, invitan a la reflexión. Entre los mayores de 74 años, la cobertura frente a la gripe llegó al 75,3%, pero entre los de 65 a 74 se quedó en el 58,7%. La vacunación contra el COVID-19 fue aún más baja: solo el 45,8% en el grupo de 65 a 74 años. Las embarazadas y el personal sanitario mostraron tasas especialmente preocupantes, por debajo del 40%.
A pesar de esas cifras, las vacunas demostraron su valor: la de la gripe evitó unas 330 hospitalizaciones en Navarra con una efectividad del 47%, y la del COVID-19 alcanzó el 42%. No son escudos perfectos, pero sí protecciones reales. La campaña permanecerá abierta más allá de diciembre para quienes no puedan vacunarse en el periodo principal, apostando por hacer la vacunación tan accesible como sea posible.
Navarra's health department will open its doors in mid-October for a vaccination campaign that pairs protection against flu and COVID-19 in a single coordinated push. The effort, running through mid-December, targets the region's most vulnerable residents: people aged 70 and older for COVID-19, and those 60 and up for influenza. The strategy also extends to pregnant women at any stage of pregnancy, people living in care facilities, and anyone with conditions that weaken their immune system or put them at serious risk.
The reasoning is straightforward. Flu and COVID-19 kill. They hospitalize. They strain the health system. By vaccinating the people most likely to suffer severe illness, Navarra's health authorities aim to reduce deaths, hospitalizations, and the cascade of complications that follow. Both vaccines can be given on the same day—a practical efficiency that removes one barrier to uptake.
Getting an appointment is simple. People can book through the Personal Health Folder app, call their local health center between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., or walk in. The health department will send text messages to priority groups, starting with those 80 and older, to prompt them to schedule. Two days before their appointment, people will receive a reminder with the time and location.
The campaign's reach depends partly on how many people actually show up. Last year's numbers tell a cautionary tale. In the 65-to-74 age group, 58.7 percent received the flu vaccine. Among those 74 and older, coverage climbed to 75.3 percent—respectable but not universal. COVID-19 vaccination lagged further. Only 45.8 percent of people aged 65 to 74 got the shot, though that figure rose to 64.7 percent in those over 74. Pregnant women received the flu vaccine at a rate of 39.2 percent. Healthcare workers, who face constant exposure, vaccinated at just 37.3 percent.
Yet the vaccines work. Last season, the flu vaccine prevented an estimated 330 hospitalizations across Navarra, achieving 47 percent effectiveness in blocking severe illness. The COVID-19 vaccine showed 42 percent effectiveness at the same task. These are not perfect shields, but they are substantial. A person vaccinated against flu is less likely to end up in a hospital bed, less likely to need intensive care, less likely to die.
The campaign will continue beyond mid-December for people who miss the initial window—newly pregnant women, patients with newly diagnosed risk factors, international travelers in vulnerable groups, and anyone who simply could not get in during the main push. The health department is betting that by making vaccination easy to access and hard to ignore, more people will protect themselves this year.
Citações Notáveis
The goal is to strengthen protection for the most vulnerable people in order to reduce deaths, hospitalizations, and the burden on the healthcare system.— Navarra's health department
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why does Navarra separate the age cutoffs? Seventy for COVID, sixty for flu—what's the thinking?
The national health commission sets those thresholds based on risk data. Flu hits hard at sixty; COVID-19's most severe outcomes cluster at seventy and up. It's about matching the vaccine to where the danger actually lives.
And both shots on the same day—is that just convenience, or does it matter medically?
Both. You avoid two trips, two appointments, two reasons to put it off. But it also works: the body can handle both at once. The real win is removing friction.
Last year's numbers show pregnant women at 39 percent coverage. That's low for a group that's supposed to be protected.
It is. Pregnancy changes how people think about medical decisions. Some worry about the vaccine itself, even though it's safe. Others don't know they're eligible. The campaign has to reach them differently.
The healthcare workers—37 percent. That's striking. They're around sick people constantly.
You'd think. But healthcare workers are busy, skeptical sometimes, or they think they're young enough to skip it. The SMS reminders help, but uptake in that group has always been a puzzle.
What does 47 percent effectiveness actually mean to someone?
It means if you got vaccinated, you're less likely to get seriously sick. Not impossible—the virus still circulates—but your odds of ending up hospitalized drop by nearly half. Last year that meant 330 fewer people in Navarra's hospital beds.
And if someone misses the December deadline?
They're not locked out. New pregnant women, people with newly diagnosed conditions, travelers—they can still get vaccinated. The system stays open for people who need it.