Penza, 13 November 2012. PenzaNews. According to the press service of the regional Customer Service of Russia, 96,583 residents of the Penza region were vaccinated against flu as of Tuesday, November 13.

The ministry clarified that 81,5% of children were immunized out of the total number planned in 2012. According to the chief state sanitary doctor of the Penza region Alexander Dmitriev, influenza vaccination is the most effective measure for preventing the disease.

“For example, in 2011–2012 unvaccinated residents of the Penza region had the flu 18 times more often than those who were immunized. Thus, as a result of vaccination in the region at least 95 thousand cases of influenza were prevented, the direct damage of which would have reached 798 million rubles,” he specified.

Alexander Dmitriev added that, according to the experts, the benefits of influenza vaccination in the Penza region amounted to 9–11 rubles to each ruble invested in vaccination.