European health authorities are calling for increased vaccination coverage for influenza and COVID-19. This is the trend of vaccination rates in Europe last year.
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Influenza and coronavirus vaccinations were “suboptimal” in several countries in the European Union and European Economic Area last winter, according to EU health authorities. EU health authorities are calling for the list to be expanded this year.
Two new European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) reports.
According to an ECDC report, a median of 14% of people over 60 years of age have received a COVID-19 vaccination, and a median of 22% of people over 80 years of age have received a vaccination.
The proportion of people aged 80 and over ranged from 0.03 percent in Romania to 93.9 percent in Sweden.
The agency said there were large differences in influenza vaccination coverage for the 2023/2024 winter season across the EU and EEA, ranging from 12% in Slovakia to 78% in Denmark.
Overall, only two countries, Denmark and Ireland, had influenza vaccination coverage above 75% among people aged 65 and over.
This means that countries are falling short of the Council of Europe target set in 2009 to achieve 75% influenza vaccination coverage among older people.
“Very few countries have reached sufficient levels of protection for their target populations, so it is essential that we increase vaccination uptake for the winter season,” ECDC Director Pamela Rendi Wagner said in a statement. said.
The agency warned that seasonal influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and COVID-19 infections could co-occur and strain the health system. This has also happened in the past few years since the pandemic.
They called on people in high-risk groups, such as the elderly and immunocompromised, to get vaccinated along with front-line health workers.
ECDC also urges people with respiratory illnesses to stay home from work, wash their hands, ventilate indoor areas, and avoid infection in crowded places and high-risk groups to avoid infecting others. He advised people to take precautions such as wearing masks.
