Adnkronos (Adnkronos) – "Every year, children are among the most affected by influenza, but also among the least protected: vaccination coverage among children remains much lower than that among adults." To identify shared strategies for increasing coverage, institutions, federations, and healthcare professionals participated in Rome today at the event "Flu Vaccination – Prevention Begins in Childhood," organized by Nomos Centro Studi Parlamentari, with the unconditional contribution of AstraZeneca.
Pediatric influenza vaccination – the promoters emphasize – is part of a prevention strategy that concerns not only the health of individual children, but also the impact of influenza on the community and health services.
According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), all 30 European Union countries participating in the survey had a vaccination recommendation for children and adolescents for the 2024-25 season, according to differentiated strategies for age and risk groups. "But there remains a gap between vaccination recommendations and family uptake," the statement reads. "Therefore, in addition to the availability of vaccines, the system's ability to support families in making informed choices and accessing prevention becomes crucial."
Hence the need for a shared strategy that brings together planning, communication, accessibility, and trust."
The session was opened by Andrea Costa, an expert in NRRP implementation at the Ministry of Health, who introduced the current state of pediatric influenza vaccination in Italy and the tools to strengthen coverage.
"Pediatric influenza vaccination is an important prevention tool, allowing us to intervene before the disease has consequences for people's health and healthcare services," he stated. "Today we have the opportunity to take a step forward, starting with coverage data and the disparities that still exist between regions. But to increase uptake, simply organizing the offer well isn't enough. Flu vaccination must be part of a broader strategy, in which planning, service organization, communication, and trust all work together."
Following a presentation by Paolo Bonanni of the University of Florence on public health planning and objectives, attention shifted to the local level and the role of the Regions, comparing the experiences and organizational approaches of Lombardy, Puglia, and Emilia-Romagna. The topic of trust was the focus of a panel discussion on the role of healthcare professionals and local networks in engaging with families and combating vaccine hesitancy. Participants included Rino Agostiniani, president of the Italian Society of Pediatrics (SIP); Antonio d'Avino, president of the Italian Federation of Pediatricians (FIMP); Enrico Di Rosa, president of the Italian Society of Hygiene, Preventive Medicine, and Public Health (SITI); Giulia Ciancarella, SIMG Macroarea (Italian Society of General Practitioners and Primary Care Doctors) for Health Promotion and Prevention; Michele Pellegrini Calace, national secretary of Federfarma; and Valeria Fava, head of health policy coordination at Cittadinanzattiva.
"To increase coverage," Agostiniani stated, "we need to strengthen family trust and simplify access to vaccination, enhancing the role of pediatricians as a point of reference. Clear information, easily accessible vaccination options, and increasingly close collaboration between pediatricians, health services, and institutions are therefore needed. It is through this joint effort that we can transform the recommendation into a concrete prevention opportunity for an ever-increasing number of children." For Fava, "the regional differences we still observe in vaccination availability and coverage pose a serious equity issue. We cannot ask families to opt-in to preventive vaccination if access pathways are fragmented, complex, or unclear depending on the region. Prevention is a right and must be concretely available to everyone, regardless of where they live."
The meeting, moderated by Rainews24 journalist Gerardo D'Amico, concluded with a discussion on the impact of pediatric influenza vaccination on public health priorities, focusing on antimicrobial resistance and inadequate access to healthcare services. Representatives of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Republic, Ilenia Malavasi and Guido Liris, participated. The discussion, the statement concludes, highlighted "the need to consider pediatric influenza vaccination as part of a broader prevention strategy, in which planning, territorial organization, trust, and the ability to inform and support families must proceed in a coordinated manner. Increasing pediatric coverage means strengthening prevention and contributing to the sustainability of the National Health Service."
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