Make the dialogue between central institutions and Regions stronger and more effective to improve vaccination coverage for the elderly, overcoming territorial differences in coverage. This is one of the themes at the center of the General States of active aging, organized in Rome by HappyAgeing which has reached the finish line of 10 years of activity. The event, held on the occasion of Grandparents’ Day which is celebrated today, obtained the patronage of the Higher Institute of Health and saw experts, representatives of institutions and trade unions discuss topics such as the evolution of longevity over time, the vaccinations in the elderly, policies on active aging and physical activity.
Immunization of the elderly has represented one of the pillars of HappyAgeing’s activity since the beginning, with various awareness campaigns focused on inviting those over 65 to get vaccinated. “Today the commitment of the Italian Alliance for active aging in this field – explains Michele Conversano, president of the Technical Scientific Committee of HappyAgeing – is moving to a more institutional level, promoting greater collaboration between the Ministry of Health, Regions and local authorities that translate into concrete and widespread actions what is contained and foreseen by the National Vaccine Prevention Plan (Pnpv)”.
For Conversano, “a profitable and long-lasting alliance must be formed between central and local institutions to reduce, to the point of eliminating, the profound territorial differences that are recorded both in terms of vaccinations offered and vaccination coverage – for diseases such as influenza, Covid, respiratory syncytial virus, Herpes zoster and pneumococcal pneumonia – by implementing tools such as the active call, the latter has amply demonstrated its value in terms of increasing vaccination coverage, as can be seen from the in-depth document that HappyAgeing dedicated to her, the position paper ‘Active call strategy for vaccinations for the elderly’, presented last January”. Another point on which it is necessary to continue working, concludes the expert, is “the project of a Life Calendar which broadens the perspective of the vaccination calendar divided by age groups and transforms it into a map of health appointments in the life of each. So that every citizen can always know which prevention strategies to apply to actively contribute to improving their own lives and those of the entire community. In this way, the vaccination calendar would be part of a broader prevention strategy”.
