The exceptionally high vaccination rate in Malta explained

The vaccination coverage of 62% in 2005 reached such an elevated level due to various factors.

In 2005, Dr. Tanya Melillo Fenech, working at the Maltese Disease Surveillance Unit, was chairperson of the Influenza Pandemic Health Committee. This committee had the remit to prepare the Health Plan for Malta.

Dr. Fenech confirms that in 2005, foreign media had attention for pandemic and the avian virus. Dr. Fenech developed a good relationship with the Maltese local media so that the subject of a pandemic was regularly mentioned. She used to go and give talks to parents at schools and to all healthcare workers. At the Second European Influenza Conference in Malta, she had arranged local media, top speakers and top heads in health and other ministries to be there.

During the seasonal vaccination period, Dr. Fenech and the Association of General Practitioners launched an intensive campaign to encourage the population to take the vaccine. Looking at the figures it becomes clear that it has worked.

In Malta, the government offers free seasonal vaccine to people over 55 years of age. In 2005, this action expanded to government health care workers, police and armed forces and in 2006 to poultry workers, vets and customs workers dealing with live animals. The vaccine is also offered free of charge to all those of 2 years of age and older who suffer from chronic disease.

When comparing the 2004 data on hospital admissions with regards to influenza to those of 2005, a decrease varying between 0 to 10 persons per month can be notified. When asked, individuals who took the vaccine for the first time in 2005 said to have had a very good winter and to have hardly become ill. Many mothers of children who took the vaccine for the first time confirmed that their children were less ill and away from school than in previous years.

This year, the Influenza Pandemic Health Committee is no longer functioning. In the past, the GPs were able to buy the vaccines directly from agents. In 2006, this has changed, as GPs can buy vaccines from pharmacists exclusively. This has been determined to have a negative impact on the GPs encouragements towards their patients to take the vaccine. In addition, from September 2006 onwards both local and foreign media were hardly mentioning the pandemic at all and the weather remained very warm. All these factors result in the estimation that the vaccination rate has decreased by half in 2006.

Dr. Fenech concludes that in order to get a good response of vaccination coverage in a country, you need an intensive vaccination campaign for the general public using all forms of media for a large period of time (approximately three months) and a solid collaboration with the general practitioners and their associations.