“Diseases that we consider trivial, such as a simple flu, kill between 5,000 and 15,000 people every year in Italy. This is an example to demonstrate how vaccines can help fight all of this”. This was stated by Massimo Andreoni, professor of infectious diseases at the Tor Vergata University in Rome and scientific director of the Italian Society of Infectious and Tropical Diseases (Simit), on the sidelines of the meeting “Investing in the future: vaccine prevention as a driving force for health, well-being and sustainability” which took place at the Ministry of Health. Vaccination – it emerged from the meeting – is the second most important intervention after water purification in increasing population health and life expectancy and is one of the most cost-effective public health interventions, with a return on investment at the individual, health system, economic and social level.
“Covid, if needed – continues Andreoni – has shown how important vaccination is especially in frail subjects and elderly people. Nonetheless, being vaccinated so frequently created a feeling of ‘hesitation’. Today here in the ministry – he concludes – I think it is needed to understand what are the best strategies to reach people and explain to them the importance of vaccination prevention “.
