The second online focus group, in the framework of the “Civil Society promoting vaccination across the life-course” EU project, will be held in France the 27 of September 2023, organized by the Coalition for Life Course Immunisation (CLCI), official partner of Active Citizenship Network. Independent experts will discuss the importance of life course vaccination in their country, including Covid-19 lessons learned, barriers to vaccine access, options of diverse vaccine choices, and the possible change of the annual vaccination schedule.
Output: the output of the webinar will be a public report containing the key insights and recommendations gained from the meeting.
Context:
Most vaccination programmes focus on discrete life stages such as childhood, but evidence supports a life-course approach, meaning vaccination given through all phases of life. The life-course approach to immunization recognizes the role of immunization as a strategy to prevent disease and maximize health over one’s entire life, regardless of an individual’s age. A life-course approach requires that immunization schedules and access to vaccination respond to an individual’s stage in life, their lifestyle and specific vulnerabilities/risks to infectious disease that they may face.
Adult immunization in France
In France, about 13.4 million individuals over the age of 65 years are considered at risk for adult vaccine preventable diseases (VPDs) – a figure predicted to rise to 20 million by 2050. Despite recommended schedules and evidence on protective effects of vaccination, uptake rates are decreasing in France. Influenza vaccination rates decreased from 60% in 2010 to 46% in 2017, and pneumonia vaccination was at 20% coverage for adults. Eurostat reports a five-year average influenza vaccination coverage rate for adults 65 and older of 50.7% for the period 2015- 2019. Coverage rates for other vaccines are not available.
COVID-19: As of 16 October 2022, France had reported 36.22 million cumulative confirmed cases and 155,885 cumulative deaths. More than 133 million doses had been administered, and 80.4% of the populace had received at least one, with 79.1% fully vaccinated. The pandemic highlighted structural weaknesses of the health system as well as the need to factor in the country’s policy-making apparatus, power structure, and policy dynamics while aiming to implement LCI beyond COVID-191.
WHIT THE UNCONDITIONAL SUPPORT OF
Project timeline: May-December 2023
To know more:
Civil Society promoting vaccination across the life-course project
The engagement of Cittadinanzattiva on vaccination
For more information, please write to Daniela Quaggia:
