‘Is the flu going round this year?’ The vaccination campaign advert is here

“Doctor, is the flu going round this year?” “But is last year’s vaccine still effective?” “If I’ve already had the flu, is it still necessary?” The new advert, which begins with the questions we all ask ourselves at home, is being broadcast on RAI radio, RAI TV and the Ministry of Health’s social media channels. With the slogan “The vaccine: the answer that protects you”, it launches a new prevention campaign aimed at promoting vaccination as the main tool for preventing seasonal flu and its potential complications.

“Getting the flu jab is a way of protecting yourself and others, especially those who are most vulnerable,” emphasises the Minister for Health, Orazio Schillaci. “ ‘I urge the public – and, in particular, the elderly, those with chronic conditions and those most at risk of complications – to take part in the vaccination campaign. Prevention is a commitment that must be renewed every year: through vaccination, we can help safeguard the health of individuals and our communities.’

“Our responsibility, as institutions, is twofold: to make prevention genuinely accessible and to ensure that citizens have the tools to understand its value,” adds the Under-Secretary of State for Health, Marcello Gemmato. ‘This means, above all, protecting the most vulnerable, strengthening trust in science and building a health information system capable of answering people’s questions, wherever they look for their answers, including in new digital environments.’

Vaccination is recommended and actively offered free of charge to those identified by national guidelines, with particular attention paid to those most at risk of complications. Providing clear and accurate information is essential. This must be done by addressing people’s questions and needs, offering reliable answers on the safety, effectiveness and procedures involved in flu vaccination. This is what emerged from a survey on flu vaccination carried out by the Demopolis Institute on behalf of the Ministry. In fact, 40 per cent of respondents stated that, over the last 3–4 years, they have begun to seek out more information on health matters. In particular, when asked about the flu vaccination, 48 per cent of those who took part in the survey would like to know more about the actual protection against infection, 44 per cent about the vaccine’s effectiveness in limiting possible complications from flu, and 33 per cent about the possible incidence of adverse events. The demand for information is particularly pronounced amongst those who have not yet decided whether to get vaccinated.

In any case, according to the survey, 8 out of 10 Italians regard healthcare professionals – specialists and GPs – as their main sources of trust when it comes to vaccination. This is precisely why the Ministry’s campaign this year begins by addressing the most common questions people ask about flu vaccination, turning them into the central theme of the dialogue in the advert, in which the doctor plays a central role and provides a clear answer: vaccination as the main means of preventing flu and its complications.