(ANSA) - MILAN - Not only Covid-19: vaccinations against other infections, such as those triggered by influenza viruses, pneumococcus, meningococcus and Herpes zoster, must also be strengthened in diabetic patients.
The alert was launched by Paolo Fiorina, full professor of endocrinology at the University of Milan and director of Endocrinology at Asst Fatebenefratelli-Sacco.
"Cellular immunity in diabetic patients is impaired - explains the expert - therefore infections such as meningococcus or pneumococcus can cause very severe pneumonia. Even infections that are not particularly serious, such as influenza, can cause myocardial infarction, respiratory failure, bacterial sequelae that are inserted on the original infection, dramatically increasing the risk of hospitalization and worse outcomes ".
Intervention on these patients is "essential", continues the expert.
"In addition to the vaccine against Covid-19, for which the health authorities also recommend carrying out the fourth dose, the goal is to increase the administration of the other vaccines available: influenza, pneumococcal, herpes zoster, meningococcus,
To date, however, vaccinations among diabetics have not taken off, as shown by the "desolating" numbers of Lombardy: "out of about 400,000 diabetic patients, about 40% are vaccinated against the flu, less than 15% against meningococcus and pneumococcus, less than 2% for Herpes zoster. These figures - comments Fiorina - expose to periodic epidemics of various infections, with consequent complications, cases of respiratory failure, hospitalizations, deaths ".
This issue was discussed at the State University of Milan on the occasion of the "States General of vaccinations of the fragile / chronic subject in Lombardy: from guidelines to operational proposals", which compared clinicians and representatives of the Region to launch a new prevention model, without bureaucratic barriers and with preferential access for fragile patients, starting with those with diabetes.
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