Steering Group on Influenza Vaccination

Respiratory viruses pose a significant but often under-recognised challenge to national health systems across Europe. Despite seasonal influenza (flu) vaccines being available for decades, flu still has one of the highest and recurring impacts in terms of incidence and mortality among vaccine-preventable diseases. It is estimated to cause up to 70,000 deaths in the EU each year, particularly among older adults and other at-risk groups.

Additionally, the increased burden of COVID-19 and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) has further complicated the landscape of respiratory health challenges, posing significant threats alongside influenza. COVID-19 has led to 1.1 million deaths in the EU as of 2022 but despite this, average COVID-19 vaccination uptake in the EU was just 12% among people over 60 years of age. Further, each year in the EU, an average of 213 000 children are hospitalised due to RSV alongside 158 000 adults. Vaccination is the best and most cost-effective way to protect Europeans against respiratory viruses. As such, the focus of the Steering Group has been expanded to also cover both COVID-19 and RSV alongside flu.

The Steering Group on Influenza Vaccination is a group of academics, scientists, healthcare workers and civic society, advocating for increased flu vaccination uptake in Europe.

Who we are

The Steering Group (SG) was first convened in November 2017, made up of experts in the field of vaccination against respiratory viruses. The Steering Group includes policymakers, patient group representatives, clinicians, and industry representatives.

Every year, the Steering Group drives the EU Flu Day campaign which kicked off in 2020. The campaign raises awareness on the importance of increasing influenza vaccination uptake, particularly during COVID-19, to meet the 75% target for at risk groups, and expand this recommendation to include COVID-19 and RSV.

The Co-Chairs of the Steering Group on Influenza Vaccination are:

Dolors Montserrat, Member of the European Parliament (European People’s Party, Spain) and former Minister of Health in Spain
Colin Russell, PhD, Professor of Infectious Diseases, Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, and Chair of ESWI

The Steering Group’s activities are supported by Vaccines Europe.

Acumen Public Affairs acts as the Secretariat of the Steering Group and can be contacted at sginfluenza@acumenpa.com

Our mission

The Steering Group on Influenza Vaccination brings together 9 organisations representing healthcare professionals, scientists, academics, civic society organisations and industry, aiming to drive respiratory viruses vaccination uptake in Europe. Each year, the Steering Group organises an awareness raising campaign on the importance of influenza vaccination, using the hashtag #EUFluDay on social media.

We are also supporting efforts to establish a Flu Alliance, which is a more informal coalition of like-minded organisations at country level across Europe. The aim is for this to be a forum that connects organisations within countries for cooperation towards common goals, as well as providing a cross-border platform for dialogue for national coalitions, allowing them to share knowledge and best practices.

EU Flu Day

On 14 October 2020, the first annual EU Flu Day was launched. The campaign seeks to highlight the importance of vaccination against respiratory viruses and to address challenges to the sustainable increase of flu, COVID-19 and RSV vaccination coverage rates in Europe as a critical public health measure for healthcare systems sustainability.

It is a call to action for European citizens – particularly healthcare workers and at-risk groups – to raise awareness of the need to be vaccinated against respiratory viruses and protect themselves and those around them. Vaccination is also critical to reducing the burden on national health care systems. The campaign is being organised with the support of Vaccines Europe and spearheaded by Dolors Montserrat, a Member of the European Parliament (EPP, Spain) and Co-Chair of the Steering Group.

EU Flu Day 2023

On 11 October 2023, for the fourth edition of EU Flu Day, around 100 people gathered in person and online to participate in the event at the European Parliament. Kindly hosted by MEP István Ujhelyi (S&D, Hungary), as well as with the participation of MEP Dolors Montserrat (EPP, Spain), the event brought together healthcare players and policymakers to discuss how to increase flu vaccination uptake and better protect people in Europe from seasonal influenza.

In that spirit, the Steering Group on Influenza Vaccination issued a set of set of 9 Policy Recommendations for EU and national governments. The recommendations detail different ways regional, national and European policymakers can support HCPs’ important work in boosting flu vaccine uptake.

Watch the full event recording here and check out the highlight reel below.