Particular attention should be paid to logistics and communication
Vienna (OTS) – This winter there was a public vaccination program for influenza (ÖIP) for all age groups for the first time. What would in principle have been an important step towards vaccination prophylaxis and increasing the vaccination rate has proven in practice to be a program that is not yet fully developed. In order to improve this for the coming season, the Austrian Association of Vaccine Manufacturers (ÖVIH) believes that some areas, such as: B. logistics or communication. In addition, the vaccine contingents procured should be expanded and vaccinations should be increasingly targeted at infection hotspots such as schools.
Target: Vaccination rate must be based on WHO and EU recommendations
The WHO and the European Council have been recommending a vaccination rate of 75 percent in vulnerable groups such as the elderly or people with previous illnesses for years. [1] Austria does not even come close to achieving this target. “As one of the wealthiest countries in the world with a good public health system, our concern must be to achieve a vaccination coverage rate in line with the WHO/EU in the future
“, says ÖVIH President Mag.a Renée Gallo-Daniel.
Improve the distribution model and optimize the vaccine ordering system for vaccinating doctors
In the 2023/2024 influenza season, due to the introduction of a general vaccination concept as part of the ÖIP, there were changes in the implementation of influenza vaccinations, both for doctors and for people who wanted to be vaccinated. For example, the doctors participating in the ÖIP were able to order the influenza vaccines directly as “ordination supplies”. This was a low-threshold access for those who wanted to be vaccinated, as they were spared the trip to the pharmacy. However, in contrast to previous years, the doctors were no longer able to make a choice of vaccine or freely choose the vaccine for the individual being vaccinated, as only one type of vaccine was made available for each age group. “In addition to the lack of freedom of choice, this represents a supply risk in the event of a delivery bottleneck
“, emphasizes Dr. Christoph Jandl, Secretary General of the ÖVIH. As part of a vaccination program, it is particularly important that the vaccines reach the doctor on time. Unfortunately, this time it was the case that the vaccine doses requested by the doctors were not made available on time, even though they were delivered early and in sufficient quantities by the vaccine producing companies. “This logistical problem also needs to be solved urgently for the next influenza vaccination season
“, says Jandl.
Another problem was that there were different retrieval systems for each federal state as part of the ÖIP. There was often confusion here because it was unclear where and how the vaccines were to be ordered for the ordinations. “In the last influenza vaccination season there were nine different models, this should be standardized nationwide
“, says Jandl. The quota of vaccine quantities per federal state has sometimes led to an order stop being “declared” in some federal states, even though there were still sufficient quantities of vaccine in other federal states. In order to prevent this in the future, improved communication between the delivery offices in the state and the vaccinating doctors as well as a more flexible contingent would make sense.
Low-threshold access with pitfalls
„In principle, as representatives of vaccine manufacturing companies, we welcome all measures towards low-threshold access to vaccination, such as the delivery of vaccination doses directly to doctors’ practices as part of the ÖIP
“, emphasizes ÖVIH Vice President Mag.a Sigrid Haslinger. “Low-threshold access also means that vaccination appointments are easy to obtain and that doctors can also carry out the vaccination.
“However, the number of doctors who took part in the ÖIP was too small to speak of a comprehensive influenza vaccination offer, which made access more difficult for those wishing to be vaccinated. “An incentive for participation in the vaccination concept must urgently be created in order to ensure a higher number of participating doctors and to make the vaccination concept lower-threshold
“, demands Haslinger.
Due to a lack of communication, misunderstandings and delays in the delivery of the vaccines, vaccination appointments with vaccinating doctors often could not be kept. The ÖVIH notes that this would in turn have led to a loss of trust among both those being vaccinated and the doctors. In order to maintain or strengthen the population’s trust in vaccinations in general and in the organizers of the influenza vaccination program, some improvements would have to take place in the future.
Alternative vaccination locations
„In addition to vaccination by practicing doctors, vaccination programs should also be able to take place more often than before in companies and in state and federal schools
“, emphasizes ÖVIH General Secretary Jandl. Schools are particularly important because children are considered the main spreaders of the “real flu”. [2] In his opinion, alternative vaccination locations such as senior citizens’ facilities, rehabilitation/health care facilities, etc. should also be evaluated. In addition, existing vaccination routes and vaccination centers that are used for COVID-19 vaccinations or other vaccinations would also be suitable for influenza vaccinations.
Broad-based vaccination education campaigns necessary
Broad vaccination awareness campaigns also contribute to the willingness to vaccinate. “It is important here that vaccination information is specific to the target group. The educational campaign must be carried out across a broad media mix, i.e. include many channels and also run through the entire vaccination season. This is the only way people can actually be encouraged to get vaccinated
“, explains Gallo-Daniel.
Improve documentation in the e-vaccination certificate
The recording of the influenza vaccination in the e-vaccination certificate is regulated in principle. Access to the vaccination certificate entry should therefore be possible for all doctors and every influenza vaccination that has taken place should be recorded in the e-vaccination certificate. However, when entering the influenza vaccination in the e-vaccination certificate, something does not seem to have gone optimally this winter. The complexity of the recording process may often have led to incorrect documentation. There is also still a discrepancy between doses delivered and those entered in the e-vaccination certificate. To ensure that this does not happen again, the ÖVIH would like to see documentation simplified for vaccinating doctors and access to the e-vaccination pass for all institutions where vaccinations can take place (e.g. companies or schools).
The implementation of a public influenza vaccination program is an important step to sustainably increase the vaccination rate in Austria and to establish the topic of vaccination prevention in Austria for all age groups. However, the experiences from last season should be urgently used to further develop the system for the next season and to move closer to the WHO/EU target. The Austrian Association of Vaccine Manufacturers is happy to collaborate to improve the program with regard to vaccine distribution, vaccine distribution and within the framework of public-private partnerships in vaccination education campaigns.
[1] last accessed on February 7, 2024.
[2] Vaccination plan Austria 2023/2024, version 1.0 from September 5th, 2023
Questions & Contact:
For the Austrian Association of Vaccine Manufacturers
FINE FACTS Health Communication GmbH
Mag.a Uta Müller-Carstanjen
mueller-carstanjen@finefacts.at
+436645153040
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