Vaccine fatigue impacting flu shots

Despite the intensity of influenza this winter, the number of people getting flu vaccinations in Greece remains at disproportionately low levels, health authorities have noted.

Tellingly, according to estimates, 3 million citizens have received the flu vaccine, a number clearly lower than in 2020-2021.

The preponderance of flu cases remained high last week, albeit with a slight dip compared to the last week of 2022.

"This [winter], due to the good weather conditions and the Covid-19 vaccine fatigue, the interest in flu vaccines was initially reduced," said Dionysis Eugenides, president of the Pharmaceutical Association of Thessaloniki, in comments to Kathimerini.

As he noted: "The administration of vaccines at pharmacies without a prescription has boosted influenza vaccinations, but it has not yet reached the level we had seen the year before last. There...