Effect of mass media on influenza vaccine coverage in the season 2014/2015: a regional survey in Lazio, Italy

INTRODUCTION Adherence to vaccination program for Influenza virus is an important issue of Public Health in presence of many no-vaccine tendencies. The media event about some deaths, occurring after MF59 adjuvanted vaccine administration, has characterized the season 2014/15 vaccination program in Italy. Aim of the study is vaccination adherence assessment of the current season with regards to local health units (LHU) coordinators's perceptions in Lazio Region (IT). METHODS LHU coordinators's perceptions were collected from a questionnaire that was send via email to the all 12 LHU coordinators. The questionnaire was built with 4 questions concerning the impression about the vaccination adherence of elderly people in the current season. Data from questionnaire was compared with the official coverage rate obtained by the Regional Authority. Severe adverse events were collected by 1 LHU. RESULTS All the 12 LHU coordinators answered to our questionnaire: 7/12 (50%) predicted a coverage rate of at least 50%; 3/12 (25%) referred a coverage rate around 40-45%; 2/12 (17%) predicted a reduction of 5-10% less than the previous season. Indeed, a mean 49.1% vaccination coverage in the elderly has been reported by the Regional Authority highlighting a reduction of 10% less than the 2013/14 season coverage. No severe adverse events were observed. DISCUSSION In our survey an important effect of media event on anti-flu vaccination program adherence has been evidenced, with a failure in communication and joint management of Public Health Institutions in Italy about efficacy and safety information of flu vaccine.