“We have repeated cases of influenza in Upper Austria and Vienna. Vaccination is recommended for everyone. There is still enough vaccine available,” said Maria Paulke-Korinek from the Ministry of Health at the Austrian Vaccination Day on Sunday. A warning was given of a wave of disease currently potentially building up alongside Covid-19.
The experts at MedUni Vienna’s Center for Virology summarized what is currently happening in Europe as follows: “Albania, Belarus, Georgia, Israel, Luxembourg, Norway, North Macedonia, Moldova, Russia and Sweden are reporting widespread or regional influenza virus activity.” If travel in Europe were largely free once more compared to last year, influenza – so far the majority of A(H3N2) infections have been detected – would be easier once more.
Vaccination recommendations maintained even in a pandemic
In any case, there is still time to be vaccinated once morest influenza, emphasized the virologist Monika Redlberger-Fritz from MedUni Vienna at the Austrian Vaccination Day. In the case of influenza, the possibilities for free vaccination have been expanded in recent years: “The vaccination is included in the free children’s vaccination program in the 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 season and is generally recommended from the age of 6 months. Appropriate vaccines are available for children up to the age of 24 months.
Even with Covid-19, all other vaccination recommendations remained important and upheld, according to the new Austria 2022 vaccination plan presented on vaccination day: Above all, efforts to reduce the risk of developing whooping cough, measles and influenza are still necessary. Covid-19 vaccinations were also included, with the recommendations from the National Vaccination Committee headed by the Viennese vaccinologist Ursula Wiedermann-Schmidt being continuously updated.
Childhood flu shots reduce spread
Basically, influenza is recommended for everyone, in adults primarily for people over 60 years of age, the chronically ill and people with risk factors. In terms of processing, however, there are still different authorization and processing modalities from state to state and the various social security institutions, said Monika Redlberger-Fritz. Basically, this starts for all Austrians from the age of 15 (end of the child vaccination program).
Protection once morest influenza is primarily an individual protection for seniors. But vaccinating children would, above all, curb the spread. The comments from the current recommendations: “Model calculations showed that even 20 percent vaccination coverage of school children is associated with better (community) protection once morest severe course and death from influenza for over 60-year-olds than vaccination of 90 percent of senior citizens and seniors.”
