On 28 September 2018, ESWI brought together 60 influenza stakeholders for a day of presentations and debates on paediatric influenza vaccination. The aim of the meeting was to bring childhood influenza vaccination to the next level and to that end ESWI organized a stakeholders table for partner organizations, combined with a number of scientific contributions, Q&A and debate. The event was available via live stream video, reaching 590 viewers worldwide, many of whom weighed in on the discussions via Twitter and e-mail.

The report of the lectures and the discussions held at the Summit can now be downloaded here.

The Influenza Diabetes Task Force, a newly founded international alliance of organizations dedicated to the protection of people with diabetes against influenza, launches a campaign on influenza & diabetes. It is the first multi-stakeholder international campaign advocating for the need to increase influenza vaccination rates among people with diabetes worldwide. The campaign will start at the beginning of the 2018-2019 Influenza season.

Microlearning Videos by International Experts to Educate about Influenza & Diabetes

Because the risks of influenza for people with chronic diseases can no longer be understated, respected members of the Influenza and Diabetes community developed 6, 30 seconds to 3 minutes micro-learning videos to educate on the link between influenza and diabetes. These videos are freely accessible at https://idc.mytonomy.com.

“The videos are short and engaging. They provide reliable and accessible information on influenza & diabetes, the flu vaccine, and how we can, as healthcare professionals, talk to our patients about getting vaccinated against influenza. I am proud to be part of this sound initiative that contributes to improving collective knowledge about influenza and diabetes.”, said Prof. Ab Osterhaus, Chairman of the European Scientific Working Group on Influenza.

A Campaign Targeting Healthcare Professionals to Achieve Better Protection of At-Risk Patients

Healthcare professionals have a privileged relationship with patients and are at high risk of being exposed to the influenza virus. For that reason, the first international Influenza & Diabetes Campaign is targeting clinicians. “All members of the healthcare team have an important role to play in preventing disease. Getting vaccinated ourselves and encouraging our patients to get the yearly vaccine is a smart step that we can all take to boost our immune protection against influenza. This simple message is at the heart of the Influenza & Diabetes International Campaign.” said Phyllis Zimmer, Founder and Chairman of the Nurse Practitioner Healthcare Foundation.

About Influenza & Diabetes

Influenza is a highly contagious respiratory illness. Anyone can get influenza, but some people have a much higher risk of getting very ill from the infection. People with diabetes are 3-6 times more likely to be hospitalized during influenza epidemics[1]. They also have a much higher rate of death associated with an influenza infection[2]. Moreover, studies have shown that influenza can make diabetes difficult to manage. This is why yearly influenza vaccination is recommended by the World Health Organization for high risk patients, including those with diabetes.

[1]Bouter KP, Diabetes Res Clin Pract 1991;12:61-8. Allard R, Diabetes Care 2010;33:1491-3.

[2]https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/influenza-the-green-book-chapter-19(p4).

“Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards”, Norwegian philosopher Soren Kierkegaard once said. And we could not agree more. That is precisely why ESWI will commemorate the centenary of the 1918-19 influenza pandemic outbreak with a stakeholder roundtable gathering on 22 January 2019 in London. Chatham House kindly agreed to co-host the meeting at their premises.

The aim of the meeting is to prepare for the next influenza pandemic by providing an overview of the scientific basis for pandemic preparedness and exploring pathways to improve policy engagement. This meeting will certainly provide a unique opportunity for discussion between key players and participants in pandemic preparedness and response.

A preliminary meeting agenda is available here. More information will be made available on this website in the coming months.

ESWI’s aim is to reduce the burden of influenza in Europe and it takes an impressive lot of actions to achieve that goal. Here’s our 2017 activity report.