Rome, July 1 (Adnkronos Salute) – “The commitment of Fimp, the Italian Federation of Pediatricians, on vaccinations is total because the pediatrician deals with the child in his entirety, from disease prevention to diagnosis and treatment. Vaccination is essential to avoid dangerous diseases, but it is better if pediatricians carry it out on their patients”. This was stated by Giuseppe Palena, regional secretary of Fimp Piedmont, on the occasion of the course ‘Family Pediatrics. The protagonist of vaccination recommendation’, organized by the federation as part of the ‘VaccinAzione’ project that took place in recent days in Turin.
“In Piedmont, vaccination prevention is patchy,” explains Palena. “The ASL with very high vaccination rates are those in which there is an agreement that vaccination is administered by the child’s pediatrician in his or her own clinic, or within the designated ASL structure.” “Where the ASL establish that the pediatrician is the main actor and person responsible for vaccination of their patients, the percentage of vaccination achieved is very high because the practice takes place within a relationship of trust and any doubts are clarified with simple language and scientific data that highlight the benefits of prevention compared to the risk of a serious illness.” Thus, “on the occasion of the first health assessment,” continues the specialist, “both parents are informed about the advantages of the vaccine.”
Precisely for this reason, “pediatrician training is fundamental: you must know everything about the vaccination that is administered – warns Palena – also because, if parents are intent on only having the mandatory vaccines, they only proceed with those. Seeing that the mandatory vaccines work, parents tend to feel reassured and be more willing to also consider the recommended vaccinations”, such as the anti-meningococcus B vaccine that protects against a serious disease such as meningitis.
“From a health perspective, the recommendation is to consider all vaccinations useful – adds Renato Turra, provincial secretary of Fimp Turin – The difference between mandatory and recommended is only legislative: mandatory vaccinations are necessary to be able to attend school”. Of course, in this context “the role of the pediatrician is fundamental”, especially for non-mandatory vaccinations such as the anti-meningococcus B or the anti-pneumococcus which, even according to the latest coverage data, suffer more and more compared to mandatory vaccinations.
“There is a segment of 5-10% of families in which we come up against ideological issues – observes Turra – As pediatricians, one of our fundamental tasks is to communicate with families with whom we have a relationship of trust”. With respect to information, “communication is bidirectional: we must answer questions, doubts and explain in simple words that are suitable for the interlocutors that, if serious diseases such as smallpox for example no longer exist, it is thanks to vaccinations”. It is a matter of clarifying what is found “on Dr. Google or in chats, giving practical examples, highlighting the risks of vaccination, which are negligible, compared to the health benefits not only for the child, but also for the community”.
On an issue such as the co-administration of multiple vaccines, a lever to increase vaccination coverage, it should be remembered that “for example, for a hexavalent vaccine, giving 6 separate injections would not be desirable. This practice does not in fact modify the effectiveness of the individual vaccines. Administering multiple vaccines at the same time also allows the advantage of reducing the number of injections and therefore the discomfort and stress of the child. After all, a child is always in contact with thousands of antigens, even just going to the supermarket. Administering multiple vaccines in a single injection – concludes the pediatrician – is not contraindicated and does not increase side effects, indeed it seems to strengthen the immune response”.
