Individuals aged 65 years and older vaccinated against flu in Italy 1999-2023

Between 1999 and 2023, the share of individuals in Italy aged 65 years and older vaccinated against flu fluctuated. According to the data, the percentage of elderly people who received an influenza vaccination increased consistently up to the season 2005-2006, when it peaked at 68.3 percent. After this, flu coverage rate decreased considerably and remained at rather low levels until the flu season 2020-2021, when it reached 65.3 percent. During this time, Italy was going through its second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. A similar trend, with lower rates, is observed for the overall population coverage rate of flu vaccination in Italy.

Flu vaccination by age

Coverage rates of flu vaccination in Italy vary greatly by age group. For example, flu vaccination coverage during the flu season 2022-2023 ranged from 2.1 percent, for teenagers aged 15 to 17 years, to 56.7 percent, for people above 65 years. Indeed, elderly people have a higher chance of developing flu-related complications that might lead to hospitalization and death.

Flu vaccination across the country

During the winter of 2022-2023, coverage rates across the country were different from region to region. Umbria was the region with the highest rate of flu vaccination with almost 24 percent coverage, followed by the regions of Apulia and Tuscany. The Italian region with the highest rate of people over 65 years who received the flu vaccination was again Umbria, with almost 69 percent of elderly individuals receiving the vaccine.