Influenza and pneumonia vaccines have become more popular than before but doctors and health experts said there is a need to incentivise the vaccination so more people from the vulnerable population get covered.

Many in Calcutta are down with fever, cold and cough. Quite a few have been diagnosed with flu, other viral infections and pneumonia. Several elderly people are admitted to hospital.

Doctors and hospital officials said that though the demand for influenza vaccines, which have to be taken every year, has gone up since the Covid pandemic, it was not as high as it should be.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), every year around a billion cases of seasonal influenza are reported worldwide, including three to five million cases of severe illness.

It causes 2.5 to 6 lakh deaths annually, the WHO said.

Vaccination, the world body said, is the best way to prevent influenza. The health body has recommended flu vaccines for pregnant women, children between five months and six years, people above the age of 65, health workers and those with chronic medical conditions.

“I advise flu vaccines to everyone under these categories coming to me. But there is only 60 per cent uptake after the first advice,” said Chandramouli Bhattacharya, an infectious disease specialist at Peerless Hospital.

“The percentage goes up to 70 after I ask them a second time. But if there is an incentive, the uptake should go up,” said Bhattacharya.

Some doctors said cost is a factor that deters many elderly people from taking an influenza or pneumonia vaccine.

According to pharmacies and hospitals, each dose of an influenza vaccine costs around ₹2,500, while a pneumonia vaccine, which needs to be taken every five years or less, costs between ₹1,500 and ₹5,000.

“Many elderly retired people are reluctant to take a flu or pneumonia shot because of the cost. The vaccination coverage will increase if the government subsidises the cost,” said Amitabha Saha, a critical care expert.

A.C. Mishra, a virologist and former director of the National Institute of Virology, Pune, said the perception of influenza and pneumonia vaccines is still poor among a large part of the population.

“The perception has to be improved. The government does not give subsidy to influenza vaccines because the disease does not hit the economy like Covid had done,” said Mishra.

During the Covid pandemic and even after that, National Insurance Company offered a five per cent discount on the renewal of health insurance policies for those who could provide documents of having received two doses of a Covid vaccine.

“The incentive continued till the end of 2023. It was discontinued because Covid vaccines are no longer in use,” said an official in a government insurance company.

Despite a lack of incentives, the demand for flu shots has grown, but not as it should have been.

At Peerless Hospital, about 150 influenza vaccines are administered in one month.

“The number used to be around 50 before the Covid pandemic. This year, the vaccine for swine flu has been combined with the influenza vaccines, resulting in a spurt in demand. But the demand is still low compared to the number of elderly people coming to the hospital,” said Sudipta Mitra, chief executive of Peerless Hospital.

At Suraksha Diagnostics, influenza, pneumococcal and human papillomavirus vaccines are in demand. “Now 300 to 350 people are administered these vaccines every month. The number was 10 or to 15 a month before Covid,” said an official at Suraksha.