Last 2 September 2022, Active Citizenship Network published a new manuscript dealing with the significance of adult vaccination entitled “Addressing the Burden of the Vaccine-Preventable Respiratory Diseases: From the Pneumococcal Vaccination Case Study in Italy to the EU Council Conclusion on (adult) Vaccination”on the SL Vaccines and Vaccination Journal, an international peer-reviewed journal publishing novel fundamental and applied research related to all aspects of vaccines and vaccination. The article examines the growing burden that the trio of vaccine-preventable respiratory diseases (VPRDs), namely pneumococcal pneumonia, Covid-19 and flu, have been placing on healthcare systems among European countries. This is evidenced greatly by the data emerged from the EU survey “Pneumococcal Vaccination in adults: proposals for a fair and informed access”, carried out by Cittadinanzattiva in Italy in the 2021-2022 winter season and presented also at the EU level during the event realized by Active Citizenship Network last 7 July 2022 titled “Towards the next Council conclusions: which role of adult vaccination?”.
The pandemic has shown both the importance of vaccination and the vulnerabilities of the vaccine ecosystem that lead to a decreased availability of high-quality, safe, and effective products for everyone. Vaccines Europe’s members have analyzed the leading causes of vaccine shortages in Europe and discovered that the diversity of presentations, packs and labels in the EU is one of them.
ACN supports the SymptomSurvey, a collaboration between the Vienna Vaccine Safety Initiative and civil/advocacy organisations (Families Fighting Flu, Make Mothers Matter, the European Parents’ Association, Think Young) and the European Academy of Pediatrics. The survey’s goal is to understand better a person’s/patient’s subjective experience of flu-like symptoms and COVID and how this may relate to a person’s willingness to get vaccinated and/or seek treatment to prevent or mitigate symptoms. Completing the questionnaire will take you about 30 minutes, and the obtained insights will be used for informing the healthcare system and improving patients' positions.
The positive impacts of vaccination and vaccination policies in combating the global health threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) were discussed in the framework of the training seminar dedicated to antimicrobial resistance entitled “Resistenza antimicrobica: una minaccia globale. Cosa sapere per meglio affrontarla a livello locale” and realized by Active Citizenship Network on 4 July 2022.
The Adult Vaccination Advocacy Toolkit (AVAT), responding to an urgent call from stakeholders and advocacy groups, has come to life also thanks to ACN’s contribution. The toolkit is designed to help build the capacity and capability to influence and shape adult vaccination policy at local, national, and global levels through an evidence-to-action model of engagement across sectors and disciplines.
Data on vaccination coverage in adults and at-risk groups are not systematically collected, unlike what happens for vaccinations in childhood and adolescence and flu shots. In this context, the offer of pneumococcal vaccination in Italy, as recommended and free, has considerable regional differences in its organization and delivery, with important repercussions on the right to fair and equal access for all citizens. Cittadinanzattiva’s survey on pneumococcal vaccination has involved citizens aged from 18 to 70 years old and general practitioners, and it analyzes how the 2021-2022 flu vaccinations may have favoured the good practice of performing pneumococcal vaccine co-administration in adults at the GP’s office, also investigating citizens’ knowledge and confidence in this vaccine. The report moreover focuses on pneumococcal vaccination for healthy adults aged 65 to adults suffering from chronic diseases or who have predisposing conditions regardless of their age and aims to contribute and present civic proposals for a more effective vaccination strategy on the national territory.
The demand for influenza vaccines has been increasing, therefore, anticipating better the need for future seasonal influenza vaccines and taking appropriate measures to prepare for pandemic influenza vaccine’s industrial and delivery capabilities is crucial to secure adequate doses for European citizens and protect them against influenza and serious complications. In this context, an EU Virtual Roundtable Day on Influenza Vaccination was hosted by Members of the European Parliament, Dolors Montserrat (EPP, ES), on 21 September 2021 and ACN was an active participant in the roundtable and gave, its endorsement of the originated recommendations, i.e. the outcomes of experts’ discussions how to improve influenza vaccines supply, forecasting and demand predictability.
How to answer vaccine misinformation online? How to track what is wrong and what is right? The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has developed an e-learning course addressing vaccination misinformation on social media and other digital platforms. The e-learning targets public health practitioners and risk communication experts at the national, regional and local levels in the EU/EEA. ACN has been identified as an expert in the field and therefore involved in the revision process to give insights and comments on the near-final version of the e-learning. Interested?
Please register for the ECDC Virtual Academy and try the course now.
Active Citizenship Network (ACN) has held on July 7th this EU Webinar as a follow up to the Annual Meeting of the Coalition for Vaccination, and at the beginning of the Czech Semester, the initiative has allowed discussion of the EU Institutions' commitment to Adult Vaccination: what weight will the topic of vaccinations have in the Council Conclusions scheduled for December? How the different health stakeholders (civil society, patients, health professionals, experts, and institutions) can work together on this, and what role adult vaccinations will play in the Conclusions?
The event, hosted by the MEPs Interest Group "European Patients' Rights & CrossBorder Healthcare, was realized in the framework of the VaccinAction2022 EU project, focused on supporting the need for strengthening adult vaccination in Europe and, starting from the citizens’ and healthcare stakeholders’ perspective, understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccination campaign on the national immunisation plans, protecting the value of the adult immunisation and its gains. Hence the communication campaign’s first subject that will be launched soon.
Did you know that you could take #VaccinAction in 2022 and talk to your healthcare professional today?