Low uptake of coronavirus and influenza vaccines among risk groups in Europe

intake of seasonal influenza And in 2023-2024, many European Union/European Economic Area member states had suboptimal coronavirus vaccination coverage for risk groups such as the elderly, the report said. 2 reports Published by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.

The scope of influenza vaccination for people aged 65 and over is as follows: 12%～78% During this period, COVID-19 vaccination rates for people aged 60 and over varied between 0.02% and 66.1%. The median coronavirus vaccination rate among the target age group was 14%. only 6 countries None had coverage greater than 50%, but none had coverage greater than 80%.

Máire Connolly (MB BCh), Professor of Global Health at the University of Galway in Ireland, discussed these findings: Medscape Medical News. He said sub-optimal vaccination coverage risks the importation of coronavirus and influenza among unvaccinated populations across European countries, including in countries with high vaccination coverage such as Ireland. He said that there is a possibility of an increase.

Building trust

“Reduced vaccine uptake will lead to increased infections and, therefore, increased strain on health systems everywhere. But short-term attempts to increase uptake risk damaging long-term consequences.” If we continue to promote the benefits of vaccines without addressing their concerns, we will undermine public trust,” Dr. Anton Pottegard, professor of public health at the University of Southern Denmark, told Medscape.

Denmark has one of the highest vaccination rates for influenza and COVID-19 among older adults. From 2023 to 2024, 78% of individuals People aged 65 and over had received a seasonal influenza vaccination, while 80.7% of those aged 70 to 79 and 88.6% of those aged 80 and over had received a COVID-19 vaccination. .

Pottegaard noted that public trust is the basis for Denmark's relatively high vaccination rate. Although some countries and health organizations may be concerned that studies revealing adverse effects of vaccines could reduce vaccine uptake, all results, positive or negative, He explained that being open and honest about this will increase trust in the health care system and, in turn, increase vaccine uptake.

“We need to build trust as health regulators to work with people and help them live healthier lives. Anti-vaxxers are often the problem, but the problem is the people. “It's not up to the regulators. They can undermine trust by being too confident in their message, even though they mean well,” he says.

Pottegard added that more needs to be done to communicate uncertainty in the health sciences.

“If we ignore or downplay uncertainty today, that same uncertainty may come back to haunt us tomorrow. “It really deepened people's understanding of sexuality. You can't tell people it's black or white anymore,” he said.

Lack of high quality data

However, some countries may not have access to the high-quality data needed for proper public information. Germany, for example, lacks high-quality population-based epidemiological data on disease burden and mortality, says Oliver A. Cornelly, MD, director and head of translational research at the CECAD Institute at the University of Cologne. It is stated as follows. he told Medscape.

Germany does not report vaccination coverage for influenza or COVID-19 in 2023-2024, but influenza vaccination coverage among older people in 2021-2022 was 43%.

“Surprisingly, there are no randomized clinical trials evaluating the effectiveness of vaccine boosters against both influenza and COVID-19. [sufficiently] Please protect high-risk patients who have not been vaccinated,” Antoine Frajole, MD, director of the Global Health Institute at the University of Geneva, told Medscape.

He said the agency currently relies on “thin datasets” such as immunological studies and safety clinical data, rather than the randomized controlled trials that doctors and pharmacists use to make clinical decisions. He explained that sex booster immunization is approved.

He added that health authorities should “probably be tougher” and ask vaccine producers to provide better evidence on whether vaccine boosters protect high-risk patients.

To improve vaccination rates, a World Health Organization (WHO)/Europe spokesperson told Medscape that it is important to have a deep understanding of why key target groups are not being vaccinated.

“Several challenges, including structural, logistical, and cost-related barriers and lack of awareness, pose challenges to increasing access to vaccination sites, increasing convenience, providing vaccines free of charge, and increasing knowledge about vaccines. “The disease may be easier to deal with at first,” the WHO said.

Annie Lennon is a medical journalist. Her work has appeared in Medscape, Medical News Today, Psych Central, and elsewhere.