Founded in 1998, The European Scientific Working group on Influenza and other Respiratory Viruses (ESWI) is a network organisation that aims to reduce the burden of influenza and other acute respiratory viruses in Europe. The Influenza Diabetes Community is a focus area for ESWI and serves as a virtual reference center, containing materials supplied by the IDC members on the importance of influenza vaccination for people with diabetes. People with diabetes still face a higher risk for influenza and its complications. National and international guidelines therefore advise that diabetes patients be annually vaccinated against influenza. More information can be found in the Influenza Diabetes Community website. FIP is a member of the IDC since 2020. This gives us the opportunity to voice and advocate for the role that pharmacists can play both in immunisation and in the care of people living with diabetes. It also gives us access to an interdisciplinary forum of experts in this area, which supports FIP in advancing our work on these topics.

Initiative Overview

The goal of the Immunisation for All Ages initiative is to accelerate and advance policies that advocate for life-course vaccination by communicating the broader societal value of vaccination for all stages of life at a global and local level, such that policymakers, NGOs, governments, healthcare providers (HCPs) and citizens will support policies that prioritize vaccinations. The mission of IFAA is to expand and improve public awareness and policies that advocate for life course vaccination by learning from and building upon good practices and championing initiatives that will protect lives at all stages around the world. The IFAA is supported by Pfizer.

Steering Committee

The Immunisation for All Ages Steering Committee is responsible for guiding the direction and activities for the initiative with two overarching objectives:

• Identify where the Immunisation for All Ages network is uniquely positioned to address the current challenges, expand awareness, acceptance and access to life-course vaccination advocacy, as well as conduct strategic action planning using insights of the evolving global landscape for life course vaccination;
• Provide guidance and advice on leveraging annual summits to advance the collective strategic vision and lead initiatives that will be supported by a working group of other Immunisation for All Ages initiative participants or members.

Current Steering Committee members include:

• Dr. Jane Barratt, Global Advisor, International Federation of Ageing (IFA)
• Prof. Michael Moore AM PhD, Chair, Immunization Task Force, World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA)
• Gonçalo Sousa Pinto, Lead for Practice Transformation, International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP)
• David Sinclair, Chief Executive, International Longevity Centre (ILC-UK)
• Dr. Stefania Maggi, President, European Interdisciplinary Council on Ageing
• Prof. Charles Feldman, Professor of Pulmonology, University of Witwatersrand

IFAA Advocacy resources

Click on the following links to access disease-specific advocacy resources. These relevant data and references build the case for increased investment and action to improve vaccination coverage against these diseases.

Influenza infographic	COVID-19 infographic	Pneumococcal disease infographic
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infographic	Infographic on the importance of immunisation for all ages

Vaccines Today has been online since 2011. The site is supported by Vaccines Europe, independently accredited by Health on the Net and is an active member of the WHO Vaccine Safety Net network. Its content is written by professional health journalists and actively reviewed by an Editorial Board of doctors, scientists and patient representatives. FIP is proudly joining this group of more than 20 organisations including the Immunization Action Coalition, History of Vaccines, the World Medical Association and Vaccine Ambassadors in the promotion of vaccination uptake and coverage around the world.

The Covid-19 pandemic has taught us a lot. Amongst other things, we’ve learnt about the importance of protecting the most vulnerable people in our societies, particularly older adults and patients with underlying medical conditions. We need to improve influenza vaccination rates and, in doing so, reduce the burden of influenza disease nationally, regionally and globally. That’s why the IFPMA, IFA and FIP have joined forces to develop a common basis for a network communication strategy around influenza vaccination. We’ve been working on our #TogetherAgainstFlu online campaign, together with the digital agency ZN. The objective is to keep raising awareness of the importance of flu vaccination and herd immunity for healthcare workers, older adults and patients living with chronic conditions, such as respiratory and heart diseases. We are taking a network approach to reach these audiences. Evidence-based messages targeted at different stakeholders, opinion leaders and decision-makers will support their advocacy for implementation of existing recommendations for the prevention and control of seasonal influenza. And we are looking to expand our influenza network. We are looking for other groups/organizations to partner with us in sharing the campaign messages across their audiences. Join the influenza network. Help us spread us the messages around the importance of flu vaccination.