Influenza vaccination recommendation, chronic diseases

Data on seasonal influenza vaccination policies and coverage (2008/2009-2014/2015) was collected by VENICE (Vaccine European New Integrated Collaboration Effort) through the National Gatekeepers and Contact Points in the EU/EEA Member States (http://venice.cineca.org/) and supported by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). Data on seasonal influenza vaccination policies and coverage (2008/2009-2014/2015) in the non-EU/EEA Member States was collected by the WHO Regional Office for Europe through a survey in 2015. Andorra, Monaco and San Marino were not included in this survey.

Since data on influenza vaccine recommendations were not collected for the EU/EEA countries in the 2008/2009 and 2013/2014 seasons, information from the 2007/2008 and 2012/2013 seasons were used as a proxy for vaccination policies in 2008/2009 and 2013/2014 respectively for these countries.

As of 2015/2016, data has been collected for all Member States by the WHO Regional Office for Europe through the WHO/UNICEF Joint Reporting Form (JRF), which is completed yearly by the national immunization managers. In some instances, additional data has been obtained from official national reports on influenza vaccination.

Year describes the first year of the influenza season (northern hemisphere). For example, 2009 means 2009/2010 influenza season. No data (ND) can mean (1) Data on vaccine policies not reported or not known (2) data on vaccination coverage not reported, (3) vaccination coverage not monitored. Coverage is labelled "not applicable" in the case that vaccination is not recommended (i.e. there is no monitoring of vaccination coverage). This applies to all risk groups. It should be noted that definition of target groups recommended for influenza vaccination varies by Member State and that definitions may have changed over time. Hence data on vaccination coverage may not be directly comparable between countries and national trends should be interpreted with caution.