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A hundred people with Cystic Fibrosis join the VacunaCovidFQYA campaign to urgently demand its inclusion in the COVID-19 vaccination strategy.
People with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) have started a campaign to make visible the difficult situation in which they find themselves, in the midst of this COVID-19 pandemic and without access to the vaccine, despite being a risk group recognized by medical societies such as SEPAR (Spanish Society of Pneumology and Thoracic Surgery – Sociedad Española de Neumología y Cirugía Torácica) or FACME (Federation of Spanish Medical Associations).
Respiratory system, main organ affected
Cystic Fibrosis is a chronic, hereditary, degenerative disease in which secretions thicken and facilitate the accumulation of bacteria, viruses or other microorganisms that enter the lungs and cause respiratory infections. Some of these microorganisms are especially dangerous for people with CF and can lead to a more rapid decline in lung function. Hence the special risk posed to them by a possible COVID-19 infection.
Voluntary isolation prior to confinement
Because of this risk, people with CF were isolated earlier and more strictly than the general population at the beginning of the pandemic, have been confined for more than a year and the situation is becoming untenable. They need to get back out on the streets, safely return to normal life and, above all, return to their hospital visits and daily care.
VacunaCovidFQYA Campaigne
“What if you were just one photo away from the vaccine?”, This is the slogan chosen by Soraya, Irene and Olaia when they started a campaign last week to join the campaign for the vaccine from the Instagram profile @vacunacovidfqya, which has already been joined by nearly 100 people sending their photos next to the windows, showing their desire to get back out on the streets.
“When the pandemic began, the media kept saying that this only affected the elderly and people with previous pathologies. Now we see how people with serious pathologies such as Cystic Fibrosis are left out of the priority groups, while the rest of the people start to lead a ‘semi-normal’ life. They are going to start vaccinating people over 50 years of age and we are still waiting. Until when?”, denounce the promoters of the campaign.
All photos collected in this campaign can be viewed on the Instagram account @vacunacovidfqya or through the hashtag #VacunaCovidFQya. The video is avaliable on Youtube and can be downloaded through WeTransfer.
What is Cystic Fibrosis?
Cystic Fibrosis is a genetic, serious and degenerative disease that to date has no cure.
It mainly affects the respiratory, digestive, reproductive and sweat glands.
You can see the infographic published by the Cystic Fibrosis Spanish Federation in this link or see how Dani tells us what this disease is for him in this vídeo.
Currently, more than 2,000 mutations are known to cause the disease.
Statistics show that 1 in 5,000 people in Spain has Cystic Fibrosis (1 in 6,400 in the Balearic Islands) and 1 in 35 people is a carrier of a gene that causes the disease.
In the Balearic Islands there are 73 known diagnosed cases, but statistics speak of between 85 and 90 possible cases.
The awareness project of the Respiralia Foundation aims to raise awareness of this disease in order to discover those cases of people who have Cystic Fibrosis but have not yet been diagnosed.
#TogetheragainstCF
