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The IFA’s AV-HCP ECHO responded to this gap in continuous education by delivering a successful and interactive learning series aimed at fostering a community of HCPs in the field of adult vaccination. The program aimed to enable HCPs to become champions and advocates of adult vaccination.

Together, experts and learners came together to propose key recommendations and good practices for HCPs to advocate for and improve adult vaccination.

Ageing populations, combined with the rise in chronic conditions that require complex health management, are driving an unprecedented demand for health and social care. Infectious diseases (such as influenza, pneumonia, shingles, diphtheria, tetanus and hepatitis) increase the risk of hospitalization, disability and death among older people and are associated with a loss of functional ability and autonomy.

The societal value of immunization is well-known during childhood years. Unfortunately, and despite clear evidence in support of a life course approach to vaccination, access, availability and uptake rates are suboptimal in the older adult population with a heavy burden of preventable disease.

This webinar is made possible through an unrestricted educational grant from Sanofi Global.

Older age and frailty are not synonymous, however the risk of becoming frail increases with age. Frailty—the degree to which an individual’s well-being and ability to function independently declines—has been shown to impact the effectiveness of vaccines, particularly influenza.

Understanding this correlation can lead to improved health outcomes for the most vulnerable members of our society. In celebration of the 2019 UN International Day of Older Persons, focusing on the theme “The Journey to Age Equality,” the IFA hosted this webinar featuring Dr Melissa Andrew, Associate Professor of Medicine and consultant in Geriatric Medicine at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada. The aim is to explore how frailty impacts vaccine effectiveness and how this may be considered in a life-course approach to immunisation.

Population ageing is a global phenomenon with serious social and economic opportunities as well as challenges.  In the Asia Pacific region, this trend is evident with 11.2% of the population aged 65 years or older among Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) countries.  Older adults around the world are critical for the livelihood and productivity of societies as is consistently acknowledged in many countries within this region.  A life-course approach to immunization belongs in a comprehensive public health strategy that can help facilitate healthy ageing and an environment that enables older people to do what they value. 

This report reflects the discussions held by experts and thought leaders on improving adult vaccination uptake rates in the Asia Pacific including the barriers, gains and identified solutions.

This webinar series has been supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Pfizer.

Driving the Agenda of Pneumococcal Pneumonia Vaccination in At-risk Populations in Community and Long-term Care is a study that aims to inform vaccination policy in an effort to shine light on a significant gap in the protection of the rights of older people.

Pneumonia is a leading cause of hospitalization and death in Canada, with a high prevalence among populations most at-risk from serious complications from infection. This survey aims to gain insight on public health messages and campaigns on pneumonia to help generate knowledge and drive effective policies to increase uptake rates, including in long-term care settings.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the alarming frequency of infectious disease outbreaks and epidemics in recent history, there is an immediate and critical need to expand and sustain investments in health promotion and preventive health strategies such as immunization.

Although vaccines are universally available in Canada for vaccine preventable diseases (VPD) including influenza, pneumococcal pneumonia and pertussis, adult vaccination rates remain shamefully low. Inadequate immunization infrastructure, inconsistent targeted public health messages and limited vaccine gateways are but three impediments to improving rates in those Canadians most at-risk of serious and life-threatening consequences of these infectious diseases.

Vaccination is a known preventive tool against diseases such as influenza and pneumonia, both of which can seriously threaten the health and well-being of people with chronic diseases who may already be managing significant health needs. Yet, chronic disease populations remain under-vaccinated due to both systemic and personal factors that need to be addressed.

In response to the under-vaccination of at-risk populations, the International Federation on Ageing (IFA) in partnership with the Swedish Heart and Lung Association (SHLA) organized the expert meeting on “Vaccination and the at-risk population of adults with heart and lung conditions” in Stockholm (herein referred to as the ‘Stockholm Meeting’).

After thorough discussion and deliberation on the experiences of their members and constituents in Canada, consensus was reached around the immediate barriers and strategies to improve influenza advocacy campaigns. Barriers were a lack of consistent funding, gaps in the collection and distribution of standardized age-disaggregated data, and communication across sectors and disciplines.

Provincial governments have not prioritized publicly funding enhanced influenza vaccines for at-risk populations such as older adults, impacting the health and quality of life of many older Canadians. Funding for targeted messages is limited, often restricting CSOs’ ability to implement effective and successful campaigns. 

This report reflects the views of experts from across disciplines and sectors and the need for targeted communication strategies when mobilizing knowledge on adult vaccination. In an increasingly digital world, communication based on listening and understanding the target population is critical to ensuring the rights of older people are met. Organizations and authorities representing groups at-risk to influenza are encouraged to take the time to hear from the voices of older people, develop evidence-based approaches, bring the experts in communication to the table, test messages and modes of dissemination, and above all, measure impact.

Knowledge gained from this white paper and other expert meetings will continue to help shape future communication strategies in partnership with organizations and government to increase adult vaccination rates around the world.

As age expectancy increases globally, the World Health Organization (WHO) continues to emphasise on healthy ageing. Healthy ageing is defi ned as the process of developing and maintaining the functional ability that enables wellbeing in older age, and adult vaccination is one of the focus areas identified by the United Nations (UN). The action plan comprises of integrated, long-term care for high-risk individuals and is facilitated by a close-knit collaboration between stakeholders through strengthening research, data and innovation.

The Adult Vaccination Advocacy Toolkit responds to an urgent call from stakeholders and advocacy groups to influence and shape adult vaccination policy.

The Toolkit is a collection of authoritative and adaptable resources designed around four key policy issues: vaccine pathways, expansion of the pool of vaccine administrators, effective targeted adult vaccination campaigns, and an environment that strives for vaccination equality.

Vaccine preventable diseases such as influenza, pneumococcal pneumonia, and pertussis can be deadly for at-risk populations, including older people and those with chronic health conditions.  However, the voices of Canadian seniors with regard to experienced barriers to adult vaccination are largely missing from the national discourse and immunization policy.

The study Bringing the Voices of Canadian Seniors Together in the Fight Against Influenza collected real world evidence of barriers to influenza vaccination faced by Canadian older persons. The project aims to help build the capacity of patient and seniors’ organizations to improve influenza vaccination coverage.

IFA report compiling findings from a two-stage project specific to Germany including an environmental scan of information and messages conveyed by a sample of advocacy and patient organizations as well as government, and in-depth interviews and questionnaires with decision-makers of specific seniors, patient and professional organizations to gain a clearer understanding of the organizational perspectives towards adult influenza vaccination.

This report calls on key decision makers of Canadian Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to identify through a series of interviews reasons behind the poor prioritization of adult influenza vaccination.  Despite the differences in mandates, general consensus across participating organizations was that a collaborative effort would be needed to improve adult vaccination uptake and influence change.

This position paper is an outcome of a three-part virtual meeting series entitled “Improving Adult Influenza Vaccination in Canada: Learning from International Good Practices” and held between September to November 2020, wherein health professionals and experts in immunization, public health, ageing, and patient advocacy exchanged knowledge on the challenges, core principles, and strategies that underpin a national influenza immunization program in Canada.

A consensus statement based off of the Changing the Conversation on Adult Influenza Vaccination Expert Meeting.

This report is the first component of “Changing the Conversation on Adult Influenza Vaccination” and describes the findings of a ten country environmental scan of public health messages pertaining to influenza vaccination from governmental, and patient and advocacy organizations.

In this joint statement, the World Coalition on Adult Vaccination calls on increased investment in educating and encouraging older adults and those with chronic diseases to be vaccinated against influenza and pneumococcal pneumonia.

Despite the challenges associated with the COVID19, many lessons have been learned. For World Immunization Week 2020, IFA asked World Coalition on Adult Vaccination members what knowledge they have gained from the pandemic.

IFA report on the importance of vaccination to older people with diabetes in the United Kingdom, as a result of IFA-led expert meeting.

The following consensus statement demonstrates the importance of mobilizing knowledge on influenza vaccination for at-risk Canadians and identifies opportunities to help build capacity to influence policy across Canada, working toward equal opportunity.

Consensus statement on raising awareness on influenza vaccination resulting from the IFA-led expert meeting “Fighting the Flu through Targeted Awareness Campaigns”.