The GRIPEXPERT group has underlined the “fundamental need” for flu prevention to be approached “as a structural public health priority and not only as a vaccination campaign concentrated in the autumn and winter months.”
As they have detailed, “between weeks 40 of 2024 and 20 of 2025, more than 33,000 hospitalizations were reported in Spain, around 1,800 admissions to Intensive Care Units (ICUs), and close to 1,800 deaths related to flu,” figures that have led to the submission of the “White Paper on Flu in Spain 2026-2027: Recommendations, Evidence and Challenges.” This document sets out 14 measures, derived from 77 proposals, “to improve the protection of vulnerable populations and move toward a more equitable and assessable preventive strategy.”
The report has been developed after studying eight major areas and through a consensus process among six independent experts, with support from the flu vaccine provider CSL Seqirus. In its conclusions, it is reiterated that flu continues to be one of the most preventable threats to public health, with recurring major impact on the healthcare system.
“However, the response to this disease continues to face challenges that go beyond vaccine availability: insufficient coverage, territorial differences in access to prevention, and difficulties in measuring results in a homogeneous way,” the text warns.
Therefore, the authors advocate for a prevention strategy capable of getting ahead of the clinical, care, and social impact of flu. They recall that this is an infection whose consequences are not always perceived, and that go beyond respiratory complications: it can trigger cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events, worsen chronic conditions, and increase frailty, loss of autonomy, and dependency, especially in older people.
Territorial Differences and Access to Vaccination
After reviewing the burden of disease, the impact on the health system, the situation of vulnerable groups, vaccination coverage, the role of improved vaccines, the organization of the campaigns, communication and governance, as well as resilience and investment, the document highlights the notable differences between territories. These disparities affect both overall coverage and access to vaccines with increased immunogenicity for older people and other at-risk groups.
An example of this reality is that flu vaccination only reached 58.47 percent of people aged 65 years or older, far from the 75 percent target set for this population group. In light of this situation, experts propose facilitating accessibility, strengthening active outreach to people at risk, and promoting the exchange of best practices among autonomous communities.
Within this framework, and drawing on studies that point to additional reductions of between 11 and 18 percent in the risk of hospitalization associated with flu compared with standard vaccines in older adults, specialists emphasize the need to implement homogeneous indicators. With them, it would be possible to better evaluate the health outcomes of the campaigns, compare strategies, and guide future decisions.
"Flu can no longer continue to be considered a problem exclusively seasonal," the member of GRIPEXPERT and professor of Preventive Medicine and Public Health at the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (URJC) in Madrid, Dr. Ángel Gil, has said, who added that "its impact on the most vulnerable people and on the care capacity of the system requires a sustained preventive strategy, with decisions based on evidence, better access to protection tools, and rigorous evaluation of results."