The Ministry of Health of Jujuy announced on March 10 that the 2026 flu vaccination campaign will begin throughout the province on Wednesday, March 11. The campaign will offer free doses to prioritized groups at hospitals, health centers, and vaccination sites in an effort to provide early protection ahead of the winter season.
The initiative aims to reduce complications, hospitalizations, and deaths associated with influenza, a respiratory illness that tends to circulate more during winter and can cause seasonal outbreaks each year. The campaign is part of a nationwide strategy implemented simultaneously across Argentina.
Javier Cadar, Secretary of General Health Coordination, said that starting the campaign early is part of health planning in response to regional epidemiological trends. He noted there has been early circulation of respiratory viruses and the presence of a new variant of influenza A (H3N2). “Adelantar la campaña nos permite llegar al invierno con la mayor parte de la población objetivo protegida. En Jujuy estimamos una cobertura cercana a 160 mil personas, por lo que la estrategia se organiza con anticipación para garantizar el acceso oportuno a la vacuna en todo el territorio,” Cadar said.
Roxana Fatum, Deputy Director of Primary Health Care and head of Immunizations for the province, highlighted the preventive value of vaccination. “la vacuna antigripal fortalece las defensas frente al virus de la influenza y reduce significativamente las formas graves de la enfermedad. Invitamos a la comunidad a acercarse a los vacunatorios distribuidos en hospitales y centros de salud de toda la provincia,” Fatum said.
The flu vaccine will be available free of charge and without a medical order for healthcare workers in both public and private sectors; children aged six to twenty-four months; pregnant women at any stage; adults aged sixty-five years or older; and strategic personnel such as police officers, federal police, army members, national gendarmerie officers, and firefighters. These individuals need only present their national ID at vaccination sites.
People aged two to sixty-four years with risk factors—including diabetes, serious heart or respiratory conditions, obesity, or immunosuppression—must present medical certification indicating their diagnosis and need for vaccination. The flu shot can be administered alongside other vaccines from the National Calendar or with COVID-19 vaccines without requiring minimum intervals between doses.
Officials say this marks sixteen years since Argentina began its annual flu vaccination campaigns nationwide. Jujuy has consistently participated in these efforts by maintaining high coverage levels through its public health system.
