Gert van der Hoek
In Memoriam - Editor, Senior Moderator
Eurosurveillance
Low coverage of seasonal influenza vaccination in the elderly in many European countries
Some snips:
Data on influenza vaccine uptake in the elderly were available for 19 countries out of the 29 members of VENICE. The remaining 10 countries reported that they had not collected such data.
The results show that the likelihood that an elderly European citizen is immunised against influenza is related to his or her country of residence.
The reasons for such wide variations in vaccination uptake are not clear. This information was not sought in our study. Further research is needed to determine underlying reasons.
Comparison with an earlier published survey with data from 2000-2001 shows encouraging increases for seven countries over the six years (Figure 2). However it has been suggested that as countries reach higher levels the total rates plateau at or below 75% [8]. This suggestion is supported by the telephone surveys conducted by the University of Zurich using the same methodology for six seasons and five countries: France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK [6].
Comparison of our data for 2006-7 with the figures for North America where the United States (US) coverage in the elderly for the same season was estimated to be 65.6% [9] indicates that while some European countries are doing better than the US, Europe as a whole is lagging behind.
http://www.eurosurveillance.org/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleId=19001
VENICE = Vaccine European New Integrated Collaboration Effort http://venice.cineca.org/
Low coverage of seasonal influenza vaccination in the elderly in many European countries
Some snips:
Data on influenza vaccine uptake in the elderly were available for 19 countries out of the 29 members of VENICE. The remaining 10 countries reported that they had not collected such data.
The results show that the likelihood that an elderly European citizen is immunised against influenza is related to his or her country of residence.
The reasons for such wide variations in vaccination uptake are not clear. This information was not sought in our study. Further research is needed to determine underlying reasons.
Comparison with an earlier published survey with data from 2000-2001 shows encouraging increases for seven countries over the six years (Figure 2). However it has been suggested that as countries reach higher levels the total rates plateau at or below 75% [8]. This suggestion is supported by the telephone surveys conducted by the University of Zurich using the same methodology for six seasons and five countries: France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK [6].
Comparison of our data for 2006-7 with the figures for North America where the United States (US) coverage in the elderly for the same season was estimated to be 65.6% [9] indicates that while some European countries are doing better than the US, Europe as a whole is lagging behind.
http://www.eurosurveillance.org/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleId=19001
VENICE = Vaccine European New Integrated Collaboration Effort http://venice.cineca.org/
