ANDALUCIA’S annual flu and Covid vaccination campaign will start on October 1, and for the first time care home residents are among the first in line.

Regional health chief Antonio Sanz announced the 2026/27 campaign to the Andalucian parliament’s health committee on Thursday. He said the aim was to protect the most vulnerable groups as early as possible.

“Strengthening public health means precisely that: anticipating risks, preventing illness and protecting people before they need medical care,” he said.

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Anyone living with someone in a priority group can get the flu jab at the same time as that person.

Three- and four-year-olds will receive a nasal spray vaccine at school. Their teachers, parents and siblings can also be vaccinated.

The high-dose flu vaccine will now be offered from age 75, down from 80 last year.

The protein-based Covid vaccine Bimervax will be used for care home residents and for people aged 12 and over with certain immune conditions.

In the coming weeks, the campaign will add vaccination against RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) for care home residents and adults with severely weakened immune systems.

Andalucia’s vaccination programme Andavac recommends the flu jab for every pregnant woman during the campaign, which usually runs from October to March. It can be given in any trimester.

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According to Andavac, pregnant women are three times more likely to be hospitalised with flu and four times more likely to die from it than non-pregnant women of the same age.

The jab also protects newborns, who cannot be vaccinated against flu until they are six months old.

Mothers who miss the jab during pregnancy are advised to have it within six months of giving birth.

Pregnant women will receive Vaxigrip or Flucelvax. Both are inactivated vaccines, so they cannot cause flu.

Pregnant women should book through their health centre with the help of their midwife or family doctor.

Last season, 1,939,424 Andalucians were vaccinated against flu, which Sanz said was above the previous record. Another 778,824 people had the Covid vaccine, and 56,186 babies were immunised against RSV.

“The important thing is to protect yourself and protect others, because vaccination is prevention,” Sanz said.

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