The Balearic health ministry reports a large increase in the number of people being vaccinated against flu and Covid.
Between Monday and Thursday this week, 6,840 people had a flu jab, 4,411 a Covid vaccination, and 4,206 had both. The previous week, the numbers were 3,547 (flu), 2,283 (Covid) and 2,082 (combined).
Since Wednesday it has been possible to get vaccinations without making appointments, this having been a measure introduced by the health ministry in response to the rise in cases of people suffering from respiratory virus infections and the consequent strains being placed on the health service.
Also since Wednesday, the wearing of face masks in health centres and hospitals has been mandatory. A nationwide measure, the Balearic government is opposed to this, insisting that the health situation in the Balearics cannot be compared to elsewhere in Spain.
In this regard, the government can point to data for the first week of 2024 which show an incidence of 273.8 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the Balearics (these cases are for various infections). The national average was 935.1, with the second lowest incidence (459.6) having been in Andalusia. The highest (1691.3) was in Castile-La Mancha.
Over the first week, there was an increase in the incidence of flu, which is the primary cause of the infections, and a decrease for Covid; this stood at 16.6 per 100,000.
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There's a lot of nonsense written by some of the contributors to these comment pages about vaccinations and face masks. Stubbornness reigns while denial and conspiracy theories abound ("it's all the work of the Government to control the population). And just like voters for the UK to leave the EU, this minority are making their decisions based on falseism and innuendo. If we're faced with another Covid pandemic or if the flu really starts to bite the more measures that people take to avoid infection, the better. That's a truism. Maybe defences like face masks don't appeal but their wearing must be adhered to otherwise we run the risk of a minority infecting the majority and that ain't on.