In Austria, the flu vaccination is often ‘forgotten’: the flu vaccination rate has fallen for the second time in a row, to a paltry 13.62 percent. With a view to the fall wave of 2023, the Association of Vaccine Manufacturers (ÖVIH) calls on the government to take measures to stop the negative trend.
The vaccination coverage calculated on the basis of the doses supplied or returned relates to the total population and is more than three percentage points lower than in the previous season, even 8.5 percentage points compared to 2020/21. So it has been steadily falling since peaking in the first year of the pandemic. The decrease is visible both in the vaccines provided by the government, for example for the children’s vaccination concept or for elderly and nursing homes, and in the private sector such as pharmacies or companies. This is considerably higher for privately funded vaccinations.
“We are currently seeing a similar development as after the swine flu pandemic in 2009,” said ÖVIH president Renée Gallo-Daniel. “From initial concern, vaccination coverage first rises, but then falls sharply again because the danger of the disease is no longer classified as relevant.” flu came back violently.
Vaccine shortage in autumn?
“The starting point for this fall is anything but ideal,” the growers warned. In addition to an information campaign, ÖVIH Secretary General Christoph Jandl called for low-threshold access: one could “think of making vaccinations possible in pharmacies”. In addition, vaccines could become scarce: “Most of the planned vaccine doses for the 2023/24 season should flow into the public vaccination program. However, the remaining small part for the private sector is very difficult to plan, which will lead to uncertainty among manufacturers, wholesalers and pharmacies,” warned ÖVIH Vice President Sigrid Haslinger. Ultimately, there could be too few vaccines available overall.
Source: Krone
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