Influenza Insights: Vaccine Coverage Rate Stagnancy: What Can We Do About It?

The publication of this podcast was sponsored by Sanofi.

The following recording is a non-promotional medical podcast that has been sponsored and provided by Sanofi, and hosted on the EMJ website. EMJ had no influence on the content covered during this recording, which is intended for healthcare professionals only. Whilst this is a departure from our regular bonus content, this podcast features Litjen (L.J) Tan and Mine Durusu Tanriöver, who discuss influenza vaccine coverage rate stagnancy. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the individual speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sanofi or EMJ.

The content of this podcast is correct at the time of recording, which is January 2025.

Listen to Litjen (L.J) Tan and Mine Durusu Tanriöver discuss the challenge of influenza vaccine coverage rate (VCR) stagnancy, and how this might be addressed.

Speakers

1. Mine Durusu Tanriöver – Professor of Internal Medicine, Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Türkiye; Member, Global Influenza Initiative Steering Committee. 
2. Litjen (L.J.) Tan (Moderator) – Immunize.org, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA; Member, Global Influenza Initiative Steering Committee. 

References

1. Our World in Data. Vaccination coverage, world, 1980 to 2021. Available at: https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/global-vaccination-coverage?time=1980..2021. Last accessed: July 2024.  
2. Evans B et al. Analysis of global routine immunisation coverage shows disruption and stagnation during the first two-years of the COVID-19 pandemic with tentative recovery in 2022. Vaccine X, 2023;15:100383.  
3. World Health Organization (WHO). Childhood immunization begins recovery after COVID-19 backslide. 2023. Available at: https://www.who.int/news/item/18-07-2023-childhood-immunization-begins-recovery-after-covid-19-backslide. Last accessed: August 2024.  
4. World Health Organization (WHO). Half a million children in WHO European Region not fully vaccinated in their first year of life: new 2023 data reveal both gaps and gains in immunization coverage. Available at: https://www.who.int/europe/news-room/15-07-2024-half-a-million-children-in-who-european-region-not-fully-vaccinated-in-their-first-year-of-life–new-2023-data-reveal-both-gaps-and-gains-in-immunization-coverage. Last accessed: August 2024.  
5. European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). Seasonal influenza vaccination recommendations and coverage rates in EU/EEA Member States. 2023. Available at: https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/Seasonal-flu-vacc-recs-coverage-rates-EU-EEA.pdf. Last accessed: August 2024.  
6. National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. Influenza vaccine coverage by population (2019–2023). 2023. Available at: https://www.nfid.org/resource/influenza-vaccination-coverage-by-population/. Last accessed: July 2024.  
7. Anderson KM, Creanza N. Internal and external factors affecting vaccination coverage: modeling the interactions between vaccine hesitancy, accessibility, and mandates. PLOS Glob Public Health. 2023;3(10):e0001186.  
8. Larson HJ et al. The vaccine-hesitant moment. N Engl J Med. 2022;387(1):58-65. 
9. UNICEF. New data indicates declining confidence in childhood vaccines of up to 44 percentage points in some countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. 2023. Available at: https://www.unicef.org/rosa/press-releases/new-data-indicates-declining-confidence-childhood-vaccines-44-percentage-points-some. Last accessed: August 2024. 
10.  Liu S et al. A systematic review and meta-analysis of strategies to promote vaccination uptake. Nat Hum Behav. 2024; 8(9):1689-1705.