Flu season is in full swing. Why are vaccination rates down across Europe?

The flu season is in full swing, but Europeans are less protected due to falling vaccination levels among at-risk groups.

An estimated 27,600 people die from the flu every year in the European Union and United Kingdom, and hospitals are currently stretched thin as they grapple with a cocktail of respiratory illnesses, including the flu, COVID-19, the vomiting bug norovirus, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

Meanwhile, human metapneumovirus (HMPV), which typically peaks in late winter, is making headlines due to an outbreak in China.

Older adults, very young children, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems or chronic health conditions are at higher risk of getting seriously sick from influenza, and public health authorities typically recommend they get the flu jab every year.

Several countries even expanded their vaccine guidelines this year – but influenza vaccination rates are down across Europe, particularly for older adults and healthcare workers, according to a report from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

As a result, immunisation levels in most countries are far below what is recommended to protect public health, prompting European health officials to raise the alarm about the low rates in October.

“Often what we see in the general public is a misrecognition of risk” from influenza, which can be “extremely severe,” Ben Kasstan-Dabush, an assistant professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, told Euronews Health.

While vaccines are updated based on the influenza strains expected to circulate that year, “people may feel that they can manage their symptoms, and perhaps don't need a vaccination,” Kasstan-Dabush added.

Among older adults in the 2023-2024