Implementation of the Council recommendation on seasonal influenza vaccination (2009/1019/EU)

In December 2009 the EU Council adopted a Council Recommendation on seasonal influenza vaccination. The Recommendation asks that concerted action be taken at the level of the European Union to mitigate the impact of seasonal influenza by encouraging vaccination among risk groups and healthcare workers. The Recommendation encourages Member States to adopt and implement national, regional or local action plans or policies, as appropriate, in order to improve seasonal influenza vaccination coverage among older age groups, other risk groups such as people with chronic conditions and healthcare workers. The Council Recommendation encourages countries to foster education, training, and information exchange on seasonal influenza and vaccination. For the past 24 months, a majority of countries reported implementing significant initiatives in communication, education, training and information exchange to reduce and/or remove barriers to seasonal influenza and promote appropriate attitudes and behaviours about vaccination among key populations. In general, countries have made only limited progress in achieving the aims outlined in the Council Recommendation on seasonal influenza vaccination. In most countries, vaccination coverage rates are either low or unreported for the key populations covered by the Recommendation. More importantly, there appears to be little movement toward strengthening vaccination programmes, overcoming barriers to vaccination and increasing coverage rates.