Implement Comprehensive Vaccination Policies to Promote Uptake of the Influenza Vaccine in China

Annual influenza epidemics are estimated to result in about 3 to 5 million cases of severe illness and about 290,000 to 650,000 respiratory deaths worldwide. Influenza outbreaks often occur in crowded settings, such as schools, kindergartens, and nursing homes. Nonetheless, vaccination remains the most cost-effective way to prevent influenza infection and its complications. However, China’s current influenza vaccination coverage remains disconcertingly low, ranging between a mere 2% and 4%. This puts China well Western countries in terms of vaccination rates, underscoring a palpable scope for substantial augmentation. To promote influenza vaccination, many countries have implemented effective interventions and gained experience in policy advocacy, improving vaccination access, incentivizing service providers, and monitoring influenza vaccination behaviors and social drivers.

We analyzed and summarized the status and challenges of using flu vaccines in China by comparing and leveraging the policy experiences from other countries. It is suggested that China should take comprehensive policy interventions on influenza vaccine health education, financing mechanisms, service system, research and development, production and supply, and monitoring and evaluation. These interventions can help increase public awareness of influenza and vaccines, improve access to immunization services, lower costs, guarantee the manufacturers’ production and market supply,  generate high-quality research evidence, and ultimately increase influenza vaccine coverage and facilitate its introduction into China’s National Immunization Program.