The Balearic Islands’ school-based flu vaccination campaign is progressing strongly, with nearly 12,000 preschool children —43.4% of the target population— already immunised in their schools since the programme began on 6 October. A total of 341 schools across the islands have taken part.

Extending the campaign to all educational centres has had a major impact: the number of vaccinated children has increased tenfold compared to last year’s pilot initiative, which reached only 1,217 pupils.

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43.4% of preschool children in the Balearic Islands have already received the flu vaccine at school

These figures were presented by the Minister of Health, Manuela García, and the Minister of Education and Universities, Antoni Vera, during their visit to CEIP Aina Moll i Marquès, one of the participating schools.

Vaccination rates by island

Participation has been high across the entire region:

• Menorca leads with a 53.5% vaccination rate. Notably, 8 of the 10 schools with the best results in the Balearic Islands are located in Maó.
• Mallorca reaches 42.5%, with 268 of its 274 centres taking part.
• Ibiza shows a 42.7% vaccination rate, with 41 out of 43 schools participating.
• Formentera achieves 49.1% coverage across its 4 schools, all of which joined the campaign.

Officials expect these numbers to rise in the coming weeks, as a second vaccination round will be conducted in schools with lower coverage.

Why school vaccination matters

Health authorities emphasise the importance of protecting young children, who:

• People are more likely to suffer from severe flu
• Present a higher risk of complications
• It has one of the highest hospitalisation and ICU admission rates for influenza

Although childhood flu deaths are rare, 95% of minors who die from the disease are under five years old.

How the campaign was organised

To execute the programme, the Health Service formed 13 primary care vaccination teams, each made up of:

• 2 nurses
• 1 auxiliary nursing care technician
• Administrative staff
• Support drivers

Children received a single dose, and pupils in the 4th, 5th and 6th years of early childhood education were given an intranasal vaccine.