The anti-flu campaign begins. But in Sardinia only 4 out of 10 elderly people get vaccinated

The anti-flu campaign begins in Sardinia.

The objective is to improve the vaccination coverage achieved during the past autumn season.

But it is underlined that there are still many, too many, elderly people in Sardinia who do not get vaccinated: last season, only 37.3% of over 65s received the vaccine, a further drop compared to the previous year (41.2 %).

A figure far from the targets set by the Ministry of Health, which recommend reaching 75% as a minimum objective and 95% as optimal among the elderly and at-risk groups , in line with what is indicated by the WHO and the National Vaccine Prevention Plan 2023-2025.

Considering that the flu causes up to 8,000 deaths every year , Gabriele Mereu , director of the Hygiene and Public Health Service of the ASL Cagliari launches an appeal for vaccination : «The flu, unfortunately, is still very underestimated, even by the most fragile. Raising awareness among the entire elderly population about preventing the disease and promptly adhering to the vaccination campaign is essential. The influenza vaccine embodies the best preventive strategy for older adults to reduce the clinical impact of influenza. But despite ample demonstrations of the vaccine's safety and effectiveness, coverage does not reach the minimum recommended values."

«In Sardinia – adds Mereu – after the good results of the 2020/21 season with the achievement of coverage values above 60% in the over 65s, in the last season we had a worrying decrease in coverage, as well as throughout Italy . We need to reverse course with the new campaign, which we plan to launch in compliance with the deadlines indicated by the Ministry of Health."

Every year, it is estimated that 50-70% of influenza-related hospitalizations and 70-85% of deaths related to the contraction of this virus mainly concern people over 65 .

Furthermore, the presence of comorbidities increases the risk of complications and this is a cause for concern given that 50% of the population between 65 and 75 years of age suffers from at least one chronic pathology, a percentage which rises to 75% over the age of 85 .

(Unioneonline/lf)